THE 


Free  Baptist  Woman's 
Missionary  Society 


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BX 
6370 
.F73 
1922 


Faith  and  Works  Win 


BX  6370  .F73  1922 

The  Free  Baptist  Woman's 
Missionary  Society,  1873- 


Mrs.  Lucy  Phillips  Durgin 
President,   1910- 


T 


HE    FREE    BAPTIST    WOMAN'S 
MISSIONARY    SOCIETY   J?   ^ 


1873-1921 


Motto  :  Faith  and  Works  Win 

Watchword  :   Enlisted  for  Life 
Colors  :  Sapphire  Blue  and  Gold 


|aubU0beti  tip 
%^t  iFrec  Baptist  aciioman'is  Q^tiSiSionarp  §)ocietp 


PROVIDENCE,  R.  I. 

LOOSE   LEAF   MANUFACTURIXG   COMPANY 

1922 


MAR     2    2000 


Copyright,  1922 

BY    THE 

Free  Baptist  Woman's  Missionary  Society 


OUR   COLORS 

"  Fidelity,  solidity  "  — 

The  heart  of  new  and  old; 
But  the  later  band  expresses 

Its  faith  in  blue  and  gold. 
0  little  knot  of  ribbon 

Be  ever  in  our  sight, 
A  symbol  of  the  holy, 

A  spur  to  do  the  right  — 

Until  the  old-time  saying 

Of  "  What  is  mine  is  mine  " 
Gives  way  in  every  nation 

To  "  What  is  mi^ie  is  thine. 
For  all  thy  soul's  uplifting, 

For  all  thy  daily  need  "  — ■ 
The  children  of  one  Father, 

Whatever  name  or  creed. 

So,  steadfastly  advancing 

From  better  unto  best, 
By  days  and  years  of  doing, 

We  reach  a  joyful  rest.     . 
0,  little  hiot  of  ribbon 

Be  ever  in  our  sight, 
A  symbol  of  the  holy. 

A  spur  to  do  the  right. 


Nellie  Wade  Whitcomb 


FOREWORD 

X  the  world  of  literature  history  has  its  place.  While  in  the  making 
the  background  is  too  near  to  allow  of  an  appreciative  perspective. 
Yet  it  too  often  occurs  that  when  desire  reaches  to  the  past  none  re- 
main to  tell  of  that  unwritten  period.  Thinking  thus  that  with  the  passage 
of  time  there  may  arise  persons  who  will  question  the  significance  of  the 
letters  F.  B.  W.  M.  S. ;  who  its  leaders  were,  for  what  it  stood,  and  what 
it  accomplished — ^  f or  such  the  information  in  the  following  pages  is  gath- 
ered and  here  presented. 

To  those  who  have  made  this  history,  and  have  lived  through  its 
achievement  and  are  now  passing  off  the  stage  of  life  the  task  has  been 
inestimably  dear  and  precious.  May  those  who  read  it  find  in  it  the  link 
between  an  honorable  past  and  a  still  more  glorious  future. 

Lena  Fenner  Dennet 
Frances  Stewart  Mosher 
Clara  A.  Ricker 

Committee 


NOTE 

E  acknowledge  indebtedness  to  all  writers  of  Free  Baptist  his- 
tory, be  it  in  book,  magazine  or  leaflet  form;  to  our  mission- 
aries at  home  in  America,  and  to  ]\Irs.  M.  A.  W.  Bachelder 
who  has  ably  assisted  in  research  and  consultation. 

We  refer  our  readers  for  more  detailed  information  to,  Free  Baptist 
History  by  I.  D.  Stewart;  Life  and  Influence  of  Benjamin  Randall  by  F, 
L.  Wiley;  Free  Baptist  Encyclopedia;  Life  of  David  Marks  by  Mrs. 
Marilla  Marks;  Missionary  Reminiscences  by  Mrs.  M.  M.  H.  Hills;  His- 
tory of  the  Free  Baptist  Woman's  Missionary  Society  by  Mrs.  M.  A.  Davis; 
Life  of  Otis  R.  Bacheler  by  T.  H.  Stacy;  Life  of  James  L.  PhiUips  by 
Mrs.  M.  R.  Phillips;  Life  of  Lavina  Crawford  by  Mrs.  S.  M.  Bacheler; 
India  and  Daily  Life  in  Bengal  by  Z.  F.  Griffin;  Chundra  Lela  by  Z.  F. 
Grififin;  to  the  Morning  Star  on  file  at  Bates  College  and  at  the  Baptist 
Historical  Library;  and  to  the  files  of  the  Missionary  Helper,  bound  copies 
of  which  are  in  our  College  librasies,  at  Baptist  headquarters,  and  in  a 
number  of  private  libraries.  Pictures  of  our  earlier  workers  and  mission- 
aries will  be  found  in  Mrs.  Davis's  History. 

Committee 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER 

Foreword  . 


I.   Free  Baptist  Women's  Work,  1870- 

1873 Mrs.  Frances  Slncdrl  Mnsh.cr  ...  13 

II.   The  Free  Baptist  Woman's  Mission- 
ary Society Mrs.  Frances  Stewart  Moslicr  ....  15 

III.  Home  Mission,  Storer  College,  1865- 

iQoo Mrs.  Frances  Stewart  Mosher.  ...  25 

IV.  Home  Mission,  The  New  Century  at 

Storer Mrs.  Elizabeth  Mosher  McDonald  29 

V.   Foreign      Mission,      Bengal-Orissa, 

Indi.\ Mrs.  Lena  Feniier  Dennett 36 

VI.   The  Mission.ary  Helper Miss  Jessie  L.  Waterman 62 

VII.   FiN.ANCE Miss  Laura  A.  De  Meritte 74 

VHI.    The  Thank-Offerixg  Service Mrs.  Clara  .4.  RicJter 80 

IX.   Children's  Work Mrs.  Laura  E.  Hartley 83 

X.   Union Mrs.  Mary  .4 .  Wade  Bachelder.  .  88 

XT.   Onward Mrs.  Lena  Fenner  Dennett 92 

XII.   Our  Presidents Mrs.  Lena  Fenner  Dennett 95 

XIII.  OcR  India  ^Missionaries Mrs.  Lena  Fenner  Dennett 102 

XIV.  Our  Indi.an  Helpers Mrs.  Lena  Fenner  Dennett 126 

St.\tistics 136 


CHAPTER    I 

Free  Baptist  Women's  Work   1780-1873 

And  this  is  your  commission, 
O  women,  saved  by  grace, 

To   tell   of   Christ   arisen 
To   all   the   human   race. 

\iE\NA  G.  Ramsey 


/^ 


HE  men  and  women  who  founded  the  Freewill  Baptist  Denomi- 
nation were  endowed  with  great  foresight.  In  Stewart's  History 
we  find  that  the  first  church  established  at  New  Castle,  N.  H., 
was  reported  by  letter  for  the  first  time  over  the  signature  of  Abigail 
Amazeen,  and  that  at  Lewiston,  Me.,  by  Hannah  Thorn  who  several  times 
walked  thirty-five  miles  to  attend  Quarterly  Meetings.  Mary  Savage  in 
1791  is  the  first  recorded  public  speaker.  Six  years  later  a  contribution 
was  taken  at  the  New  Durham  Yearly  Meeting,  and  a  horse,  saddle  and 
bridle  purchased  for  the  use  of  Sally  Parsons  to  travel,  exhort  and  pray. 
In  the  life  of  Charles  Bowles,  colored  minister,  we  read  that  he  and 
Clarissa  Danforth  preached  at  the  Yearly  IMeeting  at  Tunbridge,  Yt.,  in 
1818,  for  "  neither  color  nor  sex  w'as  regarded  with  prejudice,  for  the  lost 
condition  of  the  wicked  and  the  fullness  of  the  atonement  engaged  their 
whole  attention."  The  History  states  that  "  Miss  Danforth  was  the  popu- 
lar preacher  of  the  fourth  decade  of  denominational  history."  Martha 
N.  Spaulding  and  Susan  Humes  were  other  preachers  in  Rhode  Island. 
In  New  York  was  Anna  Stone  Anderson  who  was  licensed  to  preach  in 
1839,  and  in  Iowa  there  was  Ruby  Knapp  Bixby. 

But  all  this  time  there  were  doubts  whether  it  was  right  for  w'omen 
to  speak  or  pray  in  public.  The  middle  of  the  19th  century  found  the 
church,  and  society  generally,  of  the  opinion  that  women  should  keep  silent 
and  learn  of  their  husbands,  and  the  religious  spirit  of  women  necessarily 
found  other  expression. 

13 


14  The  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society 

Amos  Sutton  and  his  American  wife  in  India  learned  the  address  of 
Freewill  Baptist  publications  through  a  stray  copy  of  the  "  Morning  Star," 
and  a  correspondence  resulted  in  the  formation  of  the  Freewill  Baptist 
Foreign  Mission  Society  in  1833,  and  Rev.  Jeremiah  Phillips  and  wife  and 
Rev.  Eli  Noyes  and  wife  were  its  first  missionaries.  In  1841  Noyes  re- 
turned to  America  to  tell  the  churches  of  the  needs  in  India.  Mrs.  Davis 
in  her  valuable  "  History  of  the  Free  Baptist  Woman's  Missionary  Society  " 
tells  us  that  Mrs.  Ann  Winsor  invited  ladies  to  her  home  in  Providence, 
R.  I.,  and  formed  the  first  local  Freewill  Baptist  Woman's  Missionary 
Society. 

At  the  New  Hampshire  Yearly  Meeting  in  Lisbon  in  June,  1847,  while 
the  brethren  discussed  business,  the  uninvited  sisters  discussed  ways  to 
raise  money  and  awaken  interest,  and  organized  the  "  New  Hampshire 
Yearly  Meeting  Benevolent  Association."  The  next  October  13  they  met, 
according  to  adjournment,  at  Sutton,  Vt.,  extending  their  field  throughout 
the  denomination  under  the  name  of  the  "  Freewill  Baptist  Female  Mis- 
sionary Society."  Mrs.  E.  Place  was  first  President  and  Mrs.  Nancy 
Cheney  first  Recording  Secretary.  Mrs.  M.  M.  Hutchins  was  Treasurer 
and  Mrs.  V.  G.  Ramsey  was  Corresponding  Secretary.  Systematic  preach- 
ing on  missions,  monthly  concerts  of  prayer  and  missionary  intelligence, 
weekly  offerings  and  statistical  tables  were  established.  The  office  of 
treasurer  was  soon  dispensed  with  and  all  collected  funds  were  sent  to 
the  joint  treasurer  of  the  F.  B.  H.  and  F.  M.  Societies.  Mrs.  M.  M.  H. 
Hills  says,  "  This  was  a  cause  of  weakness.  The  individual  or  society 
that  raises  funds  should  direct  their  disbursement  or  interest  and  effort 
will  fail." 

This  missionary  society  was  the  first  national  woman's  society  in  the 
country,  preceding  the  noted  Seneca  Falls  organization  by  some  five  weeks. 
Mrs.  Hutchins  was  Corresponding  Secretary  for  eighteen  years,  but  there 
was  no  financial  basis  for  power.  The  work  of  individuals  passed  with 
their  day  leaving  only  a  memory.  But  the  Civil  War  had  developed 
woman's  ability.  Susan  B.  Anthony,  Mary  A.  Livermore,  Clara  Barton,  An- 
toinette Brown  and  Lucy  Stone,  the  two  latter  classmates  at  Oberlin  of 
Mrs.  Marks,  were  expressing  in  various  ways  their  convictions. 

"  Heirs   of  all   ages   forward   in   the   files   of   time  " 


CHAPTER    II 

The  Free  Baptist  Woman's  Missionary  Society 

By    the    love    of    our    Lord, 

By  the  wants  of  the  world, 
Let  us  work  till  Christ's  banner 

O'er  all  is  unfurled. 

Vienna  G.  Ramsay 

ABOUT  1870  the  Free  Baptist  ^Mission  in  India  suffered  from  scar- 
city of  funds,  and  deaths  and  removals  depleted  the  quota  of 
workers  in  the  field.  Only  a  few  women's  auxiliaries  remained 
in  the  churches  and  yearly  meetings  were  sending  money  to  the  joint  treas- 
urer. There  was  a  general  desire  to  rise  to  the  need.  Very  active  corre- 
spondence followed  throughout  the  year.  Mrs.  Mosher,  of  the  Morning  Star 
office,  devised  a  plan  for  the  support  of  a  woman  medical  missionary  to  work 
in  the  zenanas.  Other  denominations  were  forming  Women's  Boards.  '"  Let 
us  do  likewise  "  said  Mrs.  Hayes  of  Lewiston,  and  Mrs.  Marks-Hutchins- 
Hills  of  New  York  heartily  seconded  the  proposition.  A  call  was  issued 
in  the  Morning  Star  June  4,  1873,  inviting  all  ladies  interested  in  the  F. 
B.  Foreign  Mission  to  meet  in  Sandwich,  N.  H.,  in  connection  with  the 
New  Hampshire  Yearly  Meeting. 

A  large  number  assembled.  The  first  meeting  was  held  in  a  room  over 
a  store  with  a  steep  stairway  up  which  a  score  of  elderly  women  and  many 
younger  ones  climbed.  Mrs.  I.  D.  Stewart,  an  officer  of  the  Freewill 
Baptist  Female  Missionary  Society,  was  in  the  chair.  Mrs.  Bacheler  of 
India  offered  prayer.  Mrs.  M.  M.  H.  Hills  of  New  York  told  the  needs 
of  India.  ]\Irs.  Hayes  of  Maine  explained  the  workings  of  a  Woman's 
Board.  ]\Irs.  C.  E.  K.  Davis,  author  of  many  Sunday-school  books,  spoke 
for  Rhode  Island.  Delegates  from  auxiliaries  in  Maine,  New  Hampshire 
and  New  York  favored  the  formation  of  a  Free  Baptist  W^oman's  Board. 
In  an  enthusiastic  session  it  was  voted  to  form  such  a  Board  and  a  com- 
mittee consisting  of  Mrs.  Hills  of  New  York,  Mrs.  Hayes  of  Maine  and  Mrs. 

IS 


1 6  The  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society 

Mosher  of  New  Hampshire,  was  appointed  to  draft  a  constitution  and 
nominate  officers. 

After  two  days  of  constant  work  the  hour  to  which  the  session  was 
adjourned  had  arrived.  The  most  talented  men  in  the  denomination  had 
given  their  assistance.  Mrs.  Hayes  gave  way  to  weariness  while  Prof. 
Hayes  wrote  the  constitution  at  the  dictation  of  Mrs.  Hills  and  consult- 
ing friends;  and  Mrs.  Mosher  prepared  the  list  of  officers.  Interest  had 
so  increased  that  a  neighboring  church  was  opened  for  the  meeting.  Every 
seat,  even  to  the  rear,  was  taken  by  expectant  women  as  the  committee 
came  in.  The  constitution  was  read  and  adopted,  and  the  officers  elected, 
with  many  prayers  and  heartfelt  singing  of  hymns,  and  June  12,  1873,  be- 
came a  red  letter  day  with  Free  Baptist  women.  All  the  officers  elected 
accepted  the  positions.  There  were  four  conditions  of  work.  It  should 
be  a  Home  and  Foreign  Mission  Society,  it  should  co-operate  with  the 
Free  Baptist  Home  and  Foreign  Mission  Societies,  it  should  have  an  indepen- 
dent treasury,  it  should  incur  no  debt. 

In  a  few  months  local  auxiliaries  and  state  organizations  were  estab- 
lished, and  the  Society  was  in  good  working  order.  At  the  first  anniversary, 
held  with  the  New  Hampshire  Yearly  Meeting,  two  men.  Rev.  A.  H.  Chase 
and  Rev.  A.  D.  Williams,  strolled  into  the  rear  of  the  vestry  in  the  interest 
of  Home  Missions,  and  fervent  prayers  were  offered  that  the  Home  work 
might  increase  in  order  to  enlarge  the  Foreign.  But  the  presence  of  men, 
in  those  days  of  women's  silence  in  the  churches,  almost  created  consterna- 
tion. The  Treasurer  begged  the  New  Hampshire  President  not  to  try  to 
speak  off  hand,  and  after  a  few  broken  sentences  she  seized  her  manuscript 
and  modestly  read  the  rest  of  her  address. 

In  1874,  Miss  Susan  R.  Libby  went  to  India  as  our  first  Foreign  mis- 
sionary. In  1875,  an  appropriation  was  made  for  the  salary  of  Miss  Lura 
Brackett  as  Lady  Principal  of  Storer  College  at  Harper's  Ferry,  W.  Va., 
In  1876,  Miss  Emily  Hallam  was  appointed  a  Zenana  teacher  in  Balasore. 
serving  one  year;  and  in  1877  Miss  Mary  Bacheler,  who  in  1867,  as  a 
child,  had  been  the  means  of  opening  the  first  Mussulman  Zenana  in 
Bengal,  now  a  girl  of  seventeen,  was  appointed  Zenana  teacher  for  Midna- 
pore.  On  Jan.  26,  1883,  a  charter  was  granted  the  Society  by  the  State 
of  Maine. 

On  the  same  day  of  the  organization  of  the  national  F.  B.  W.  M.  S., 
Free  Baptist  women  in  the  West  organized  in  Wisconsin  a  society  which. 


Mrs.  Mary  R.  Wade  and  daughters, 
Mrs.  Bachelder  and  Mrs.  Whitcomb 


1 8  The  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society 

because  of  the  inconvenience  of  frequent  meetings  btween  East  and  West, 
became,  with  other  state  societies,  the  Western  Branch  of  the  National 
Society. 

The  Free  Baptist  Woman's  Missionary  Society  of  New  Brunswick 
was  organized  by  Mrs.  Mary  R.  Phillips  in  1875.  Though  not  auxiliary 
to  the  National  Society  they  contributed  regularly  to  its  treasury  in  sup- 
port of  the  children's  missionary  and  the  Widows'  Home.  The  stories 
of  the  "  Helper  "  and  the  work  at  Storer  College  are  told  in  other  chapters. 

From  the  first  days  of  the  National  Society  earnest  effort  was  made 
to  interest  the  children.  Mission  bands  were  formed,  a  couple  of  columns 
of  the  "  Myrtle,"  the  Free  Baptist  Sunday-school  paper,  were  devoted  to 
the  "  Try  Class,"  members  of  which  sent  letters  to  the  "  Myrtle,"  and 
contributions  to  India  and  Storer  College.  Frances  Stewart  Mosher  was 
Children's  Secretary.  Ida  Phillips  and  Emilie  Barnes  were  the  Children's 
Missionaries.  In  1898  was  organized  the  "  Cradle  Roll,"  with  Mrs.  E.  H. 
Roberts  first  Superintendent.  The  first  "  Thank  Offering  "  service  was 
held  in  June,  1891.  A  bureau  of  Missionary  Intelligence  supplied  cos- 
tumes, curios,  missionary  leaflets,  study  books  and  programs.  Miss  Kate 
J.  Anthony  was  its  first  Superintendent. 

At  the  organization  in  Washington,  D.  C,  of  the  National  Council 
of  Women  of  the  United  States,  Frances  Willard  presented  Mrs.  Hills  as 
an  earnest  worker  for  the  elevation  of  women  in  America  and  abroad. 
The  F.  B.  W.  M.  S.  joined  this  Council  in  1888,  being  the  fourth  in  order 
of  membership.  Their  delegates  were  accorded  prominent  positions  in 
executive  sessions  and  on  the  platform.  Mrs.  E.  S.  Burlingame-Cheney 
and  Mrs.  F.  S.  Mosher  each  served  a  three-years'  term  as  Recording  Sec- 
retary of  the  Council.  The  benefits  resulting  from  the  interchange  of 
aspirations,  means  and  methods  through  fifteen  years  cannot  be  under- 
estimated. 

In  addition  to  the  support  of  missionaries  and  the  purchase  or  erec- 
tion of  five  buildings  in  India,  the  payment  of  salaries  of  teachers,  and 
appropriations  for  buildings  at  Storer  College,  and  the  support  of  Field 
Agents  East  and  West,  appropriations  have  been  made  to  the  work  of 
Rev.  Antoinette  Estabrook  at  Barbados,  W.  I. 

The  first  part  of  the  motto  of  the  Society,  "  Faith,"  has  been  as 
prominent  as  the  second  part,  "  Works."  In  every  perplexity  or  difference, 
in  every  new  undertaking,  prayer  was   the   first  thought,   and  arguments 


The  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society 


19 


and  business  were  dropped  in  the  effort  to  find  the  divine  way.  At  one 
time  such  a  session  sought  a  new  missionary.  The  astonishment  of  Miss 
Butts,  Lady  Principal  at  New  Hampshire,  was  great  when  a  committee 
of  the  Missionary  Society  told  her  they  felt  she  was  called  to  India,  and 
asked  her  to  consider  the  subject.  After  weeks  she  too  heard  the  call, 
and  her  devoted  missionary  life  in  Bengal-Orissa  was  the  answer. 


Mrs.  Nelsine  I.  Jose 
Recording  Secretary  1913- 


In  the  desire  of  the  Missionary  Society  to  meet  the  need  next  at 
hand,  in  the  most  prompt  and  efificient  way  possible,  it  was  inevitable  that 
sometimes  its  efforts  would  not  be  strictly  parallel  with  the  conservative 
ways  of  societies  whose  business  was  carried  on  solely  by  men.  But  to 
the  honor  and  Christian  fidelity  of  the  men  and  women  in  our  denomina- 
tion it  may  be  said  that  diverging  opinions  have  always  been  met  by  kind- 


2  0  The  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society 

ness  and  charity,  and  mutual  concessions  have  always  avoided  unpleasant 
controversies.  The  one  purpose  of  all  has  been  to  serve  the  Master  in 
His  way. 

Reviewing  the  history  of  the  F.  B.  W.  M.  S.,  one  is  impressed  with 
the  devotion  and  self-sacrifice  of  its  members.  Officers  serve  from  love 
of  the  cause,  and  all  work  together  under  divine  guidance  in  the  interests 
of  humanity.  Yet  there  are  a  few  women  whose  names  cannot  be  repeated 
too  often.  Missions  abroad  and  at  home  can  never  forget  Mrs.  IMarilla 
Marks  Hutchins  Hills.  As  Mrs.  Marks,  she  left  her  impress  at  Oberlin, 
and  traveled  East  and  West  with  her  husband,  David  Marks,  the  noted 
evangelist.  Later  as  the  wife  of  Rev.  Elias  Hutchins,  Secretary  of  the 
F.  B.  F.  M.  S.,  hers  was  an  open  home  for  missionaries  and  an  inspiration 
for  all  denominational  work.  She  was  a  leader  in  forming  the  Free  Bap- 
tist Female  Missionary  Society,  and  its  corresponding  secretary  eighteen 
years.  When  she  became  Mrs.  Hills  she  aided  in  organizing  the  Free  Bap- 
tist Women's  Missionary  Society  and  continued  to  the  end  of  her  life  an 
active  member  of  the  Board.  For  years  she  wrote  mission  articles  for  the 
Morning  Star,  the  Missionary  Helper,  and  other  publications,  and  was 
the  author  of  a  Life  of  David  Marks;  and  of  "  Missionary  Reminiscences." 

One  also  notices  in  this  story  of  mission  work  how  the  idea  of  service 
often  passes  in  a  family  from  one  generation  to  another.  In  India  for 
almost  a  century  we  have  the  devotion  of  the  Phillips  family,  father, 
mother,  six  children,  and  several  grandchildren.  The  Bacheler  family  is 
also  represented  by  parents  and  children.  At  Storer,  we  have  the  Brack- 
ett  family,  father,  mother,  two  sisters,  one,  Mrs.  Lightner,  giving  a  service 
of  over  fifty  years,  two  of  Mr.  Brackett's  daughters  and  one  son-in-law 
teachers,  while  a  son  and  another  son-in-law  are  on  the  Board  of  Trustees. 
Mrs.  Wade  of  Maine  was  ably  seconded  by  her  daughters,  Mrs.  Bachelder, 
active  both  East  and  West,  and  Mrs.  Whitcomb,  editor  of  the  Missionary 
Helper,  and  her  two  nieces,  the  Misses  Folsom.  The  DeMerittes  include 
Miss  Laura  A.  with  her  sister-in-law  and  her  niece,  both  at  periods  mem- 
bers of  the  Board.  Mrs.  I.  D.  Stewart,  an  officer  of  the  original  F.  B.  F. 
M.  S.,  was  followed  by  her  daughter,  Mrs.  Frances  Stewart  Mosher,  who 
in  turn  was  followed  by  her  two  daughters.  Miss  Alfrieda  M.  INIosher,; 
agent  of  the  Helper,  and  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Mosher  McDonald  of  Storer. 
We  have  Mrs.  G.  C.  Waterman  and  Miss  Jessie  L.  Waterman;  Mrs.  An- 
drews, many  years  agent  of  the  Helper,  and  her  daughter  Lydia  in  the 


The  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society  21 

same  office;  Mrs.  Porter,  active  on  the  Board  of  Managers  and  at  Ocean 
Park,  whose  daughter,  Miss  Edyth  R.  Porter,  was  for  some  years  treasurer; 
Mrs.   Fenner   and  her   daughter,    Mrs.   Lena   Fenner   Dennett;    Mrs.   J.   A. 


Mrs.  Maud  West  Kenyon 
Vice-President   1917- 


Lowell,  corresponding  secretary,  and  her  niece,  Mrs.  S.  C.  G.  Avery  in  the 
same  office;  Miss  Kate  Anthony,  a  worthy  partner  in  the  generous  bene- 
factions of  her  father  and  brother;  Mrs.  Clara  E.  Dexter  and  her  sister, 
Mrs.  Ella  E.  Stanton  of  Rhode  Island;  Mrs.  Clara  Doe  and  her  mission- 
ary daughters. 


2  2  The  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society 

We  are  also  impressed  with  the  number  of  ministers'  wives  whose 
names  appear  in  our  history: 

Mrs.  Vienna  G.  Ramsay,  who  sang  in  her  poems  of  needy  America 
and  India;  Mrs.  Sinclair,  President  of  the  early  missionary  society,  who 
with  her  husband  gave  generously  to  Storer  and  India;  Mrs.  E.  S.  Bur- 
lingame-Cheney,  the  first  president  of  the  re-organized  society;  Mrs.  A. 
C.  Hayes,  first  corresponding  secretary;  Mrs.  Mary  A.  Davis,  many  years 
a  president;  Mrs.  C.  E.  K.  Davis,  author  of  many  Sunday-school  books; 
Mrs.  Martha  Libby  Smith,  first  recording  secretary;  Mrs.  Anne  Dudley 
Bates,  known  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley  as  home  mission  teacher  and 
preacher  and  builder  of  churches;  Mrs.  Brewster,  first  editor  of  the 
Helper;  Mrs.  Emily  Jenness,  teacher  in  New  Hampton,  Green  Mountain 
Seminary,  and  Storer;  Mrs.  Caroline  Bradbury,  generous  worker  for  India; 
Mrs.  Clara  A.  Ricker  of  the  Thank  Offering  Department;  INIrs.  Osgood, 
a  New  Hampshire  president;  Mrs.  Linda  V.  Jordan,  a  Maine  president; 
Mrs.  Hartley  of  the  Cradle  Roll;  Mrs.  Lizzie  Moody  Evans,  traveling 
agent,  preacher,  and  present  pastor  of  the  church  at  Hillsdale,  Michigan. 

Among  the  many  others  who  freely  gave  time  and  thought  to  plan 
and  execute  are  Mrs.  Lucy  Phillips  Durgin  of  the  Phillips  family,  the 
present  president  of  the  F.  B.  W.  M.  S.,  and  ably  promoting  the  sustaining 
work  necessary  to  keep  the  missionaries  in  the  field;  Miss  Harriet  A.  Deer- 
ing  with  a  keen  care  of  finances;  Mrs.  A.  M.  Metcalf,  long  recording 
secretary  and  a  generous  helper  at  Storer;  Mrs.  O.  W.  Fullam  of  Maine, 
a  member  of  the  Board;  Mrs.  A.  B.  Webber,  tireless  New  England  secre- 
tary and  Helper  agent;  Miss  May  Malvern,  now  of  Tremont  Temple; 
Mrs.  Coralie  Franklin  Cook,  graduate  and  teacher  at  Storer,  then  at  How- 
ard University,  public  lecturer  and  member  of  the  Washington,  D.  C. 
school  board;  Mrs.  Lewis  B.  Stillman,  Mrs.  Henry  Chase,  Mrs.  Cousins, 
Mrs.  J.  L.  Tourtellot,  and  others  and  others,  —  their  names  are  legion ; 
only  in  the  book  of  life  which  the  angels  keep,  can  they  be  written.  Almost 
every  church  had  its  missionary  leaders,  locally  loved  and  honored  in 
widening  circles  of  missionary  work. 

Of  our  Western  work  and  workers  it  may  be  said,  "  The  pioneer  work 
of  the  F.  B.  W.  M.  S.  in  the  West  was  one  of  far  distances,  of  many  ob- 
stacles, and  limited  resources.  Women  of  earnest  heroic  spirit,  and  hearts 
burning  with  love  for  the  Master  and  the  whitened  field,  moved  to  the 
frontier  and  formed  the  nucleus  of  activity  and  power  the   full  realiza- 


The  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society  23 

tion  of  which  eternity  alone  may  reveal.  Among  these  were  Mrs.  A.  A. 
McKenney,  for  many  years  Western  Secretary,  Mrs.  Ruth  Keith,  Mrs. 
Thera  B.  True,  Mrs.  Jackson,  Miss  Anna  B.  Stockwell,  Mrs.  L.  M.  P. 
Durgin,  Mrs.  N.  L.  Abbey,  Mrs.  Hattie  Gordon,  INIrs.  Frances  S.  Mosher 
and  Mrs.  M.  A.  W.  Bachelder,  who  as  officers  and  directors  of  varied  com- 
mittees, builded  well  the  firm  foundation  for  later  achievement.  While 
as  foreign  missionaries  home  on  furlough,  the  Misses  Ida  O.  and  Hattie 
P.  Phillips,  Emilie  E.  Barnes  and  Dr.  Mary  W.  Bacheler  were  very  success- 
ful in  imparting  missionary  knowledge  and  awakening  zeal. 

Later  local  women  were  appointed  and  traveled  thousands  of  miles  in 
strengthening  and  inspiring  weak  churches  and  organizing  Auxiliaries  and 
study  classes.  Of  those  thus  sent  out  Rev.  Phebe  Elizabeth  Moody 
(Evans)  gave  longest  service;  having  first  been  employed  in  her  home 
state  of  Michigan  during  vacation  seasons,  while  a  student  in  Hillsdale 
College  Divinity  School,  from  which  she  graduated  in  1895.  In  1896, 
the  Society  secured  her  services  and  for  a  number  of  years  she  gave  her 
time,  talent  and  strength,  unreservedly  to  field  work;  traveling  some  sixty 
thousand  miles  in  all  sorts  of  conveyances,  and  all  kinds  of  weather; 
speaking  night  after  night  for  months  at  a  time.  Campaign  work  was 
done  by  her  in  fifteen  different  states  outside  of  Michigan.  Over  fifteen 
hundred  formal  addresses  were  given  on  these  itineracies  besides  count- 
less informal  talks  and  heart  to  heart  conferences  in  the  homes  and  by 
the  way.  She  often  assisted  pastors  in  special  evangelistic  meetings.  Many 
a  tired,  disheartened,  lonely  worker  gained  new  courage  and  inspiration 
to  go  patiently  on  because  the  burden  had  been  shared  and  problems 
talked  over  and  prayed  about,  and  the  ray  of  sunshine  had  come  in,  "and 
the  worry  had  gone  out."  Mrs.  Carrie  Consaulus  of  Michigan  spent  one 
season  with  Miss  Moody  in  the  work.  Later  ]\Irs.  Carrie  Miles  and  Mrs. 
Inah  Gates  Stout  did  similar  work  in  Michigan,  IMinnesota,  Iowa,  and 
Texas.  Others  doing  pioneer  work  in  pulpit  and  W.  M.  S.  were  Rev.  Lucy 
Dodge,  Rev.  Willimetta  Marks,  Rev.  Delia  Wolfe  and  Rev.  Ellen  Cross 
Copp. 

But  the  record  of  Free  Baptist  work  in  the  West  would  be  incomplete 
did  we  not  also  give  honor  to  the  mothers  who  gave  themselves  and  their 
loved  ones  to  the  cause.  "  Mother "  Sarah  Murphy,  president  of  the 
Nebraska  Y.  M.  W.  M.  S.,  gave  Dr.  H.  R.  Murphy  to  the  Bengal-Orissa 
field,  Rev.  Ada  Kennan,  president  of  the  Branch  and  Calhoun  Q.  M.  W. 


2  4  The  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society 

M.  S.,  gave  Dr.  A.  L.  Kennan,  and  Mrs.  Whitney  of  Jackson,  Michigan, 
gave  her  daughter  Minnie.  Mrs.  Nancy  Myers,  president  of  the  Van- 
Buren  Q.  IM.  W.  M.  S.,  gave  Harry  S.  Myers  to  the  home  executive  office. 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  Dunn  gave  Abbie  Dunn  Slayton,  Helen  Dunn  Gates,  and 
Nettie  Dunn  Clark,  all  they  had,  to  the  home  and  foreign  work.  "  Aunt 
Julia"  Reed  gave  a  beautiful  granddaughter,  Ruth  Daniels;  and,  with  Paul 
we  needs  must  cry,  "  What  shall  I  more  say,  for  time  (and  space)  would 
fail  me  to  tell,  of  all  the  loyal  western  women  who  have  beautifully  and 
successfully  wrought  in  the  work  and  the  end  is  not  yet,  for  the  King's 
daughters  are  indeed  willing  in  the  day  of  His  power." 

Thy  kingdom  come!     Oh,  will  it  come 

Until   desire   and   duty   wed, 
And  hand  in  hand,  and  side  by  side, 

The  sin  environed  pathways  tread? 

Rev.  Anna  Barton 


CHAPTER    III 

Home   Mission,    Storer   College,    1865-1900 

"  Sound    the    loud    timbrel 
O'er  Egypt's  dark  sea, 
Jehovah  has  triumphed 
His  people   are    free !  " 

AS  in  1873  the  call  of  women  of  India  found  a  ready  answer  in 
the  hearts  and  hands  of  Free  Baptist  women,  so  in  1875  was 
heeded  the  call  of  needy  Southern  sisters  of  tinted  race.  The 
Free  Baptist  denomination  had  been  staunchly  anti-slavery  from  the  first. 
During  the  Civil  War  and  after,  men  on  the  Christian  Commission  and 
others  sent  by  the  Home  Mission  Society,  went  South  to  teach  the  "  con- 
trabands." After  the  war  the  Shenandoah  Valley  was  assigned  to  Free 
Baptists  for  Educational  care.  The  Anti-Slavery  Society  in  a  memorable 
meeting  at  Northwood,  N.  H.,  in  1868,  with  Prof.  J.  FuUonton  in  the 
chair,  on  motion  of  I.  D.  Stewart,  declared  its  work  accomplished,  and 
the  society  was  disbanded.  A  Commission  to  Promote  Christian  Educa- 
tion in  the  South  was  established.  N.  C.  Brackett,  A.  H.  Morrell,  Annie 
S.  Dudley,  and  others  built  schoolhouses  and  churches,  and  gathered 
scholars  and  congregations.  In  1867,  work  was  begun  at  Harper's  Ferry, 
W.  Va.  John  Storer  of  INIaine  gave  for  endowment  $10,000  to  be  paid 
when  an  equal  sum  was  raised.  This  condition  was  speedily  met  and  Mr. 
Storer's  name  was  given  to  the  college.  Congress,  by  the  influence  of 
Garfield  in  the  House,  and  Fessenden  in  the  Senate,  gave  a  wonderfully 
beautiful  site  on  Camp  Hill.  The  Freednien's  Bureau  under  Gen.  O.  0. 
Howard  gave  a  dormitory  for  the  boys.  Garritt  Smith  made  a  gift  for  a 
girls'  hall,  and  the  foundations  were  laid  just  before  his  death.  Miss 
Annie  Dudley  traveled  among  Free  Baptist  Churches  and  raised  money; 
the  Harper's  Ferry  Jubilee  Singers  gave  concerts  in  the  North;  Lura 
Brackett,  to  whose  support  as  lady  principal  the  Woman's  Missionary 
Society  had  already  made  an  appropriation,   awakened  an  interest  among 


26 


The  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society 


the  children  by  selling  bricks  through  the  Myrtle.  Enough  money  had 
been  raised  for  the  walls,  but  the  rule  of  "  no  debt "  was  rigidly  main- 
tained, and  another  thousand  must  be  raised  before  the  roof  could  be  paid 
for.  A  private  letter  from  Mr.  Brackett  said,  "  We  are  almost  discouraged. 
Six  girls  in  a  room,  and  more  begging  to  come.     But  we  will  not  run  ia 

debt,  and  we  seem  to  be  at 
the  end  of  our  resources. 
What  shall  we  do?" 

Six  ladies  were  hastily  sum- 
moned to  the  Foreign  Mis- 
sion Room  at  the  Morning 
Star  office,  Dover,  N.  H. 
Their  names  should  be  pre- 
served, —  Mrs.  Hills,  Mrs. 
Waterman,  Miss  DeMeritte, 
Mrs.  Martha  Smith,  Mrs. 
Chamberlain,  Mrs.  Mosher. 
The  letter  of  Mr.  Brackett 
was  read.  Mrs.  Hills  said, 
"  Let^^us  pray."  As  we  arose 
from  prayer,  Mrs.  Hills  said, 
"  There  is  no  time  to  get  the 
consent  of  the  Board,  but  it 
will  consent.  We  will  assume 
and  raise  that  thousand  dol- 
lars. Each  of  you  write 
letters."  and  opening  the  office 
door  she  said  to  the  editor  of 
the  Morning  Star  who  had 
just  placed  the  weekly  edition 
on  the  press,  "  Will  you  stop  the  press  while  I  write  an  appeal  for  a  thousand 
dollars  so  we  can  go  on  with  the  girls'  hall  at  Storer?"  The  machinery  was 
stopped  an  hour.  The  appeal  and  letters  went  prayer-winged,  for  those  wo- 
men and  others  of  the  church  met  each  day  to  pray.  The  unanimous  ap- 
proving responses  of  the  Board  came.  Money  came.  At  Harper's  Ferry 
clear-eyed  faith  gathered  building  material.  Five  weeks  later  on  Memorial 
Day,  May  30,  1878,  the  Treasurer  held  in  hand  $1264.00  aside  from  pledges, 


Mrs.  Coralie  Franklin  Cook 
Storer  College  i88o 


Home  Mission,  Storer  College,  1 86 5-1  goo  27 

enough  to  complete  the  building  without  debt,  and  the  corner  stone  of 
Myrtle  Hall  was  laid  in  the  name  of  the  Free  Baptist  Woman's  Missionary 
Society. 

One  more  incident  on  the  way  this  Society  worked:  At  the  Cen- 
tennial, Weirs,  N.  H.,  Mr.  Brackett  said  in  private  conversation,  "  We  have 
the  boys  and  Lincoln  Hall;  we  have  the  girls  and  Myrtle  Hall,  but  no 
schoolroom.  What  can  we  do?"  The  program  was  full.  But  a  noon 
meeting  of  the  Woman's  Missionary  Society  was  called  for  twenty  min- 
utes. Prayers  for  the  India  Mission  occupied  the  first  half  of  the  time, 
and  then  Mrs.  Lura  Brackett  Lightner  and  Mrs.  Emily  Smith  Jenness 
prayed  that  the  way  would  open  for  a  school  building  at  Harper's  Ferry. 
A  subscription  paper  was  started.  It  soon  held  in  small  pledges  about 
two  hundred  dollars.  That  night  on  a  late  train  Mr.  Lewis  W.  Anthony 
and  wife  arrived  from  Providence,  R.  I.  He  told  us  afterwards  that  he 
could  not  sleep  that  night  thinking  of  the  five  little  children  who  rested  in 
God's  Acre.  He  woke  his  wife  and  proposed  to  build  them  a  monument. 
But  again  he  could  not  sleep.  The  living  needs  of  the  world  pressed  upon 
his  business  mind.  He  woke  his  wife  again  and  they  decided  to  put  a 
thousand  dollars  in  memory  of  each  child  where  it  would  help  living  young 
people.  The  next  morning  Mr.  Anthony  met  a  minister  and  asked,  "  Where 
would  be  a  good  place  to  invest  a  benevolent  contribution?"  The  min- 
ister answered,  "  Well,  the  women  are  trying  to  raise  money  to  put  up  a 
school  building  at  Harper's  Ferry."  Half  an  hour  later  Mr.  Brackett  on 
the  way  to  camp  breakfast  said,  "Let  me  sit  down.  I  am  overcome  with 
joy.  Mr.  Anthony  offers  $5000.00  for  the  school  building  if  we  will  raise 
$5000,.00  more."  Mr.  Anthony  later  told  us  of  his  night's  experience 
and  his  belief  that  in  some  way  he  entered  into  the  atmosphere  of  prayer         i 

With  Lincoln  Hall  for  the  boys,  Myrtle  Hall  for  the  girls  and  Anthony 
Hall  for  library  and  school  purposes,  the  next  need  was  a  church  building 
in  which  to  worship.  Curtis  Memorial  Church  was  completed  in  1892. 
The  DeWolf  Industrial  Building  for  the  teaching  of  domestic  science  was 
erected  from  funds  furnished  by  Mrs.  Mary  P.  DeWolf  of  Illinois.  The 
children  of  Mr.  Lewis  W.  Anthony  erected  in  memory  of  their  father  a 
three  story  grey  stone  building  in  which  are  the  blacksmith  shop,  store 
room,  office,  carpenter,  paint  and  tin  shops.  Here  also  general  repair  work 
is  done.  Sinclair  Cottage,  named  in  memory  of  Rev.  and  ISIrs.  J.  L. 
Sinclair,  of  New  Hampshire,  furnishes  a  cheerful  home  for  girls  who  wish 


28  The  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society 

to  board  themselves.     The  "  John  Brown  Fort  "  was  placed  on  the  campus 
in  1910.     The  need  of  a  home  for  the  President's   family  had  long  been 
felt  and  the  Woman's  Missionary  Society  raised  the  funds,  and  a  pleasant, 
commodious    house    was    erected.     An    adequate    water    supply    had    long 
been  needed.     Mrs.  Whitcomb,  editor  of  the  Missionary  Helper,  was  moved  ") 
to  ask  a  few  women  to  join  in  prayer  that  new  friends  might  meet  this  ( 
pressing  need.     A  casual  traveler  visiting  the  college  saw  the  need,  left  a   / 
generous   donation  and  a  good  water  system   was   subsequently   installed, 
The  story  of  Storer  College  in  recent  years  is  told  in  another  chapter. 

O'er  mountains  and  desert  —  mid  highway  throng, 

Doth    the    Lord   with    his    love-light   lead. 
O  hasten,  go  forth ;  through  thy  search  be  long, 

By  His  love  is  supplied  thy  need. 

Ernest    G.    Wesley 


CHAPTER   IV 
Home  Mission;  The  New  Century  at  Stoker 

Consecrated,  set  apart, 
Oh,  endow  each  parent's  heart 
With  the  wisdom,  love  and  truth, 
That    shall    guard    our    tender    youth, 
Feeling  they  belong  to  Thee  — 

Consecrated    let    them   be! 

Mary  B.  Wingate 

TORER  COLLEGE  has  always  been  one  of  the  best-loved  interests  of 
the  Free  Baptist  Woman's  Missionary  Society.  Every  Free  Bap- 
tist knows  the  steadfastness,  devotion  and  loyalty  with  which  the 
Free  Baptist  women  supported  the  founders  and  early  workers  of  the  school 
through  the  terrible  days  of  reconstruction  and  the  subsequent  period, 
when  the  race  problem  was  constantly  presenting  itself  in  a  new  aspect. 

During  those  thirty  3'ears  the  leaders  here  were  building  so  wisely  and 
well,  that  Storer's  teachers  and  students  were  winning  the  respect  of  the 
community  and  the  interest  of  the  state;  and  as  the  new  century  dawned 
she  was  ready  to  broaden  and  deepen  her  activities.  As  always  the  Free 
Baptist  women  listened  patiently  to  each  new  project  and  it  was  to  them 
that  the  leaders  still  turned  for  financial  and  spiritual  aid. 

With  the  turning  of  the  century  Mr.  McDonald  and  I  came  to  Storer 
and  in  this  part  of  the  chapter  I  shall  endeavor  to  tabulate  the  work 
of  the  last  twenty  years.  In  1901,  the  college  owned  twenty-four  acres, 
to-day  she  owns  forty,  all  in  practical  use.  Twenty  years  ago  Storer  used 
six  buildings  for  school  purposes.  Now  she  has  fifteen  in  school  use.  The 
Lewis  W.  Anthony  Industrial  Building.  Jackson  Cottage,  Robinson  Cottage, 
the  President's  Home  have  been  vitally  needed  additions,  while  John 
Brown's  Fort,  now  a  museum,  is  the  building  that  to  the  writer,  at  least, 
typifies  the  soul  of  our  institution,  —  the  struggle  to  make  liberty  the 
heritage  of  all  citizens  under  the  stars  and  stripes. 

29 


30  The  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society 

In  1901  there  was  no  steam  heat.  Smoky  hot  air  furnaces  dispensed 
gas  and  warmth  impartially  through  Anthony  Hall,  while  the  dormitories 
had  only  tiny  soft-coal  stoves,  easily  overturned  if  a  boy  stretched  his  legs 
with  too  much  energy,  and  a  constant  menace  from  fire.  To-day  the  three 
main  buildings  and  President's  Home  are  fitted  with  steam  radiators. 
Twenty  years  ago  there  was  no  school  dining  hall.  The  students  either 
boarded  themselves,  of  if  they  formed  the  aristocracy,  boarded  in  a  private 
club.  The  teachers  boarded  in  a  dreary  room,  to  which  overcoats  and 
wraps  were  worn  in  cold  weather  —  a  room  so  small  that  for  years  its  only 
use  has  been  for  the  chemical  laboratory  supply  closet.  I  well  remember 
the  solemn  face  of  the  student  waiter  as  it  would  appear  like  a  Jack-in-the- 
box  in  the  steep  stairway  that  led  to  the  room  announcing  "  There  will 
be  no  hereafter  "  —  on  days  when  there  was  no  dessert.  Now  all  students 
and  the  majority  of  the  teachers  eat  in  the  large  basement  dining  room 
of  the  new  Lincoln  Hall.  We  have  the  reputation  of  setting  the  best  school 
table  in  any  similar  school  for  miles  about,  and  at  the  lowest  possible 
price. 

Then  there  was  the  perennial  water  question.  Twenty  years  ago  three 
cisterns  furnished  the  school  supply.  Later  came  the  driven  well  with  its 
inadequate  flow.  Now  we  have  pipes  below  frost  line  connecting  us  with 
the  river,  a  tank  (of  50,000  gallons  capacity)  on  our  campus  so  that  bath- 
rooms and  lavatories  are  an  agency  of  civilization  and  comfort.  It  has 
also  made  possible  up-to-date  laboratory  equipment  so  that  we  may  teach 
any  science  by  the  laboratory  method.  For  drinking  water  we  still  use  the 
government-made  cisterns,  the  purity  of  which  renders  epidemics  a  prac- 
tical impossibility. 

In  1901,  there  were  nine  teachers  and  one  hundred  twenty-six  students. 
To-day  there  are  nineteen  teachers  and  one  hundred  and  ninety-seven 
students.  Between  1901-1905  we  sent  three  to  college,  between  1916-1920 
we  sent  thirty-seven.  In  those  days  there  were  no  regularly  normal  trained 
teachers  sent  out  from  our  care,  but  as  the  State  of  West  Virginia  formulated 
its  normal  course  Storer  has  fallen  into  line,  and  meets  the  same  require- 
ments West  Virginia  demands  of  her  white  teachers.  And  a  Storer  normal 
graduate  never  goes  begging  for  a  school. 

Twenty  years  ago  there  was  no  Industrial  Building  for  boys.  In 
1903,  the  Lewis  W.  Anthony  Industrial  Building  was  opened  for  work. 
While  the  fortunes  of  war  have  made  inroads  in  this  department,  we  hope 


Home  Mission;  The  New  Century  at  Storer 


31 


soon  to  return  to  our  pre-war  status  of  two  wood-work  teachers  under  whose 
training  the  boys  were  making  much  of  the  school  furniture,  as  well  as  doing 
much  of  the  repairing  and  some  of  the  building.  A  plan  to  double  the 
capacity  of  the  building  was  well  under  w'ay  five  years  ago,  and  when 
prices  drop  to  normal  we  trust  the 
work  thus  interrupted  may  be 
brought  to  completion. 

In  accordance  with  the  modern 
trend  for  instruction  in  Agriculture, 
every  Storer  boy  and  girl  must  now 
study  Gardening  both  theoretically 
and  practically.  The  individual 
garden  plots  cause  much  good- 
natured  rivalry. 

The  Domestic  Science  Depart- 
ment, one  of  the  most  important 
branches  of  our  work,  has  expanded 
and  contracted  as  necessity  de- 
manded. In  1901  Miss  Baker  was 
in  sole  charge.  On  her  resignation 
Miss  Virginia  Brown  became  teacher 
of  Cookery  and  INIiss  Elizabeth  Sims 
of  Sewing.  For  years  the  work  was 
efficiently  conducted  in  this  man- 
ner. Then  the  marriage  of  Miss 
Brown    forced   another    change    and 

Mrs.  Celeste  Brackett  Newcomer  took  charge  of  the  Cookery,  adding  to 
the  course  Home  Nursing.  The  Sewing  Department  has  had  three  on  the 
teaching  force  when  appropriations  allowed.  All  the  time  our  room  and 
equipment  has  been  inadequate  and  now  that  towards-normal  con- 
ditions have  returned  we  anticipate  the  long  talked  of  Domestic  Science 
Building. 

Believing  that  a  neat  and  dainty  personality  is  an  asset  in  any  line 
of  work,  Hair  Dressing  and  Manicuring  were  introduced  about  six  years 
ago.  It  hasn't  meant  straightening  of  the  hair  as  critics  feared,  but  it  has 
resulted  in  a  means  of  livelihood  for  some,  and  an  added  care  of  one's 
person,  for  all. 


Mrs.   Elizabeth   Mosher  McDonald 
Teacher  at  Storer  1901- 


32  The  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society 

The  growth  of  the  library,  the  constant  use  of  the  books  by  the 
students,  the  deepening  interest  in  the  well  supplied  reading  table  are 
evidences  of  the  wise  investments  of  those  friends  who  have  made  these 
conditions  possible. 

It  was  in  1906  that  the  development  of  the  Music  Department  really 
began.  Compulsory  public  school  music,  private  work  with  piano,  organ 
and  voice,  choir,  glee-club  and  chorus  work,  together  with  the  gift  of  the 


Myrtle  Hall,  now  Mosher  Hall,  Storer  College 


pipe  organ  in  1011  have  given  us  a  flourishing  and  popular  Music  De- 
partment. Rev.  J.  R.  Wood,  now  Spanish  teacher  in  California,  started  the 
vocal  department.  Miss  Charlotte  Nason,  now  at  Spellman,  put  six  splendid 
years  into  creating  precedents  and  ideals.  Under  the  present  popular  and 
efficient  teacher.  Miss  Carlotta  M.  Slater,  we  are  filling  acceptable  concert 
engagements  in  adjacent  states. 


Home  Mission;  The  New  Century  at  St  or  or 


33 


To  defray  the  expenses  of  these  new  lines  of  work  requires  most  care- 
ful management  as  you  may  judge  from  the  treasurer's  report.  In  1901  the 
report  totaled  $24,781.00,  while  in  1920  it  was  $84,768.50.  During  the  last 
few  years  the  Alumni  Association  has  become  much  more  actively  inter- 
ested. They  have  raised  $1000.00  for  scholarship  foundations,  are  nearly 
ready  to  place  an  up-to-date  iron  fence  about  the  campus,  have  furnished 
prizes  for  declamatory  contests  and  have  helped  on  the  $1000.00  drive  put 
over  this  year  to  increase  teachers'  salaries.  For  the  first  time  in  Storer's 
history   the    General    Education    Board    last   year   voted    $2000.00    on    our 

teachers'      salaries,      provided      the  

school  raised  another  thousand. 
Students,  past  and  present,  enthu- 
siastically responded  to  the  appeal 
sent  out  by  the  President  and  in  a 
short  time  we  had  more  than  gone 
over  the  top. 

The  19th  Century  Storer  had  no 
athletics.  They  were  not  needed. 
But,  the  20th  Century  Negro  boy 
and  girl  need  Athletics  as  much  as 
their  white  friends.  And  so,  many 
years  ago  football  and  baseball  were 
introduced.  In  face  of  the  con- 
tention that  the  colored  boy  should 
be  taught  to  work,  not  to  play  ball, 
Storer  has  pursued  her  policy  of 
athletics  for  exercise  only,  with  the 
results  that  the  superintendents  of 
the  halls  say  they  have  no  cases  of 
discipline  during  the  months  when 
the     surplus     energy     is     spent     in 

wholesome  play.  So  alarmed  have  the  colored  people  become  at  their  own 
low  physical  status  as  revealed  by  the  army  census  in  the  World  War  that  the 
demand  for  gymnasiums  in  colored  schools  is  growing  insistent.  Last 
Thursday,  April,  7,  1921,  in  our  chapel,  $2,736.50  was  pledged  by  students 
and  teachers  alone,  as  a  nest  egg  for  a  gymnasium  fund.  As  one  boy  said, 
"  When  the  people   for  whom  we  may  work  this  summer,  know  that  we 


Mrs.   Celeste   Brackett   Newcomer 
Teacher   at    Storer 


34  The  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society 

have  given  out  of  our  poverty  to  help  ourselves,  they  surely  will  come 
across  with  their  thousands  to  make  this  building  possible." 

But,  during  this  period,  so  full  of  promise  in  many  lines,  we  have 
lost  the  great-hearted  founder  of  the  school,  Dr.  Nathan  C.  Brackett.  His 
last  active  work  was  to  supervise  the  building  of  the  new  Lincoln  Hall, 
in  1909-10.  How  he  longed  to  see  it  finished!  Never  has  the  mystery  and 
beauty  of  life  come  nearer  than  that  July  morning  when  I  listened  to  the 
tolling  of  the  chapel  bell  —  that  bell  that  for  forty  years  had  daily  called 
him  to  service  —  and  realized  that  he  must  be  going  with  same  eager- 
ness and  gladness  he  had  always  shown  here,  in  his  new  field  of  service, 
Beyond.  Since  then  Mrs.  Brackett,  his  devoted  helper  since  he  brought 
her  here  a  bride,  has  retired  from  active  service.  But  her  occasional 
presence  among  us  is  a  benediction. 

One  of  the  Free  Baptist  Woman's  Missionary  Society  teachers  has  been 
actively  interested  through  the  whole  fifty  years'  growth  of  Storer.  Mrs. 
L.  B.  Lightner,  for  so  many  years  a  teacher,  is  still  lady  principal,  and  since 
the  death  of  her  brother,  Mr.  Brackett,  the  treasurer.  Her  wise  steadying 
influence  has  been  one  of  the  biggest  assets  of  the  school.  And  who  has 
loved  Storer  more  than  Mrs.  Alice  M.  Metcalf?  For  years  she  has  gladly 
given  her  services.  Her  Botany  classes  are  among  the  most  popular  in 
school.  Among  the  long  service  teachers  still  here  Miss  Ella  Smith,  super- 
intendent of  our  girls'  dormitory,  has  served  the  Woman's  Board  well, 
while  loving  Storer  so  truly  that  mere  money  has  never  tempted  her  to 
leav^..  For  the  lesson  of  cheerful,  loyal  effort,  how  many  men  and  women 
look  back  with  thankfulness  to  the  teaching  of  Mrs.  Emily  C.  Jenness,  whose 
last  working  years  were  given  to  Storer. 

And  so  the  years  come  and  go.  The  scenery  shifts,  and  the  actors 
play  different  roles,  or  change  entirely;  but  never  has  the  principle  of  the 
founder  varied,  —  the  principle  of  service  to  humanity.  Said  the  Super- 
visor of  Colored  Schools  in  Maryland  on  Storer  chapel  platform  the 
other  day  —  "I  have  never  been  here  before,  but  I  know  your  school  and 
its  ancient  and  honorable  history.  Wherever  I  meet  your  alumni,  and  I 
am  always  running  across  them  in  my  work,  I  find  them  genuine  workers, 
imbued  with  the  spirit  of  service,  and  I  have  come  to  believe  that  that 
must  be  the  motto  of  your  institution."  —  Could  the  women  of  the  Free 
Baptist  Woman's  Society,  who  have  been  the  supporting  column  in  so 
many  of  Storer's  drives,  desire  better  returns  for  their  prayers  and  deeds? 


Home  Mission;  The  New  Century  at  Storer  35 

With  the  old  allegiance  strong  within  her,  with  faith  in  the  beneficent 
results  of  our  new  ties,  Storer  has  entered  her  second  half  century  of 
service. 

But   who   shall    follow   where   they   have   led? 

Who  live  and  labor  and  love  instead? 

Oh,  hearts  of  youth,  earth  waits  for  you; 

Be  strong  and  brave,  be  firm  and  true. 

Faithfully  promise  and  nobly  do! 

Marianne  Fariiixgham 


CHAPTER   V 

Foreign  Mission,  Bengal-Orissa,  India 

"  India  is  sure  for  Jesus !  " 

The  glorious  truth  proclaim  — 
Press   on,   for   He    is   calling, 
And  conquer  in  His  name ! 

Vienna  G.  Ramsey 

INDIA 

UR  Free  Baptist  Mission  in  India  owes  its  existence,  under  God, 
to  the  ready  wit  and  inspiration  of  a  woman,  a  Baptist  woman. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  James  Coleman  sailed  from  Boston  for  Burma  in 
1817,  and  joined  Adoniram  and  Ann  Hasseltine  Judson  in  Rangoon.  In 
1822  Mr.  Coleman  died,  and  his  widow,  a  young  woman  of  twenty-five, 
took  up  residence  in  Calcutta,  where  she  taught  in  a  mission  school.  Here 
she  met  and  married  Amos  Sutton,  a  General  Baptist  missionary  from 
England. 

His  station  was  Cuttack,  Orisso.  —  Burdened  by  the  needs  of  his  great 
field,  and  limited  by  the  small  number  of  his  helpers,  he  searched  in  vain 
for  recruits.  It  was  then  that  his  American  wife  suggested  that  in  her 
country  there  was  a  comparatively  new  sect  calling  themselves  "  Freewill 
Baptists,"  akin  in  doctrine  and  belief  to  the  General  Baptists.  So  far  as 
she  knew  they  had  no  foreign  work:  "Perhaps  they  would  help."  She 
also  told  him  that  they  had  a  weekly  paper  named  the  "  Morning  Star." 
Grasping  at  the  suggestion  Mr.  Sutton  wrote  a  letter  to  the  editor  of  this 
paper,  but  for  lack  of  an  address  the  letter  was  pigeon-holed.  Months 
afterward  Mrs.  Sutton  received  a  package  from  home  wrapped  in  a  copy  of 
the  "  Morning  Star."  This  furnished  the  needed  address  and  the  letter  was 
sent.  Printed  in  the  page  of  the  "  Morning  Star,"  April  13,  1832,  this 
appeal  created  a  sentiment  that  crystallized,  in  the  fall  of  that  year  at  North 
Parsonsfield,  Me.,  in  the  formation  of  "  The  Freewill  Baptist  Foreign  Mis- 
sion Society."    January  29,  1833,  this  Society  was  chartered  by  the  Maine 

36 


Foreign  Mission,  Bengal-Orissa,  India  37 

Legislature,  and  in  March  Elder  John  Buzzell,  Editor  of  the  Morning  Star, 
was  chosen  President. 

Out  of  this  grew  our  first  woman's  missionary  society  in  1847,  and 
much  later,  in  1873,  our  Woman's  Board. 

The  Country.  —  Free  Baptist  India  is  a  strip  of  territory  two  hundred 
miles  along  the  Bay  of  Bengal,  between  Calcutta  and  Cuttack.  It  reaches 
westward  to  the  Nilgiris,  or  Blue  Hills.  Its  latitude  corresponds  to  that 
of  the  city  of  Mexico  and  two  hundred  miles  north  of  it.  The  climate 
is  tempered  by  the  afternoon  breezes  from  the  Bay  of  Bengal,  so  that  the 
heat  is  not  so  excessive  as  it  is  farther  inland.  It  is  an  agricultural  section, 
dotted  with  many  small  villages.  Rice  culture  is  the  principal  industry, 
with  jute,  sugar  cane,  and  cotton  raising,  oil,  silver  and  brass  manufacture, 
forming  other  occupations. 

Our  field,  inclusive  of  parts  of  two  provinces  and  peoples,  has  to  deal 
with  two  principal  languages,  the  Bengali  and  the  Oriya.  Though  the 
written  characters  are  unlike,  the  spoken  languages  are  sufficiently  similar 
to  be  understood  by  many  of  both  races.  The  Oriya  is  more  akin  to  the 
ancient  Sanskrit  and  spoken  by  some  8,000,000  people,  while  Bengali  is 
spoken  by  30,000,000.  The  Oriyas  are  less  progressive  educationally  and 
in  their  regard  for  women.  Since  illiteracy  fosters  bigotry,  we  find  the 
people  of  Orissa  strongly  entrenched  in  Hinduism.  Orissa  has  more  temples 
than  any  other  province  in  India.  Through  our  entire  field  from  North  to 
South  runs  the  great  Jaganath,  or  Pilgrim  Road,  one  thousand  miles 
between  the  sacred  cities  of  Benares  and  Puri.  While  preaching  and  tract 
distribution  along  this  road  sends  the  Gospel  message  to  the  ends  of  the 
Empire  yet  it  falls  on  ears  so  bigoted  with  Hindu  orthodoxy  that  pilgrim 
conversions  are  rare  indeed.  The  Bengali  people  have  a  large  degree  of 
education  with  a  type  of  mind  that  inchnes  to  philosophy  and  poetry.  Of 
slender  physique  they  are  not  fighters  but  are  naturally  cunning.  This 
province  is  a  hot-bed  of  nationalism,  and  frequent  collisions  with  govern- 
ment occur.  Through  its  big  cities  Bengal  is  in  close  touch  with  the  out- 
side world.  This  tempers  the  thinking  and  attitude  of  its  people.  Many 
of  its  educated  men  and  women  are  in  the  vanguard  of  all  Indian  reforms. 
Rice  sections  are  nearly  always  malarial,  the  stagnant  water  in  which  the 
rice  grows  breeding  the  malarial  mosquitoes.  This  condition  prevails  in 
Bengal-Orissa  and  seriously  affects  the  health  of  both  Americans  and 
Indians.     Under-feeding  and  repeated  attacks  of   fever  lower  the  vitality 


38  The  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society 

of  the  Indian  and  makes  him  an  easy  prey  to  further  inroads  of  disease. 
Cholera  and  small-pox  are  always  present  in  the  city  bazaars,  raging  more 
disastrously  some  years  than  others.  Influenza  in  recent  years  has  taken 
its  heavy  toll  here,  as  elsewhere.  There  is  very  little  of  enforcement  of 
sanitary  laws  by  the  British  Government.  The  Government,  however,  main- 
tains hospitals.  English-trained  Indian  physicians  and  free  dispensaries  for 
the  people,  in  the  two  largest  cities  of  our  field,  Midnapore  and  Balasore. 

Stations  in  Bengal-Orissa  were  opened  with  resident  missionaries  in  the 
following  order:  Balasore  1838,  Jellasore  1840,  Midnapore  1844,  Santipore 
1852,  Bhimpore  1873,  Dantoon  1877,  Chandbali  1887,  Contai  1893,  Bhadrak 
1900,  Kharagpur  1894.  In  all  these  places  the  wives  of  our  missionaries 
worked  for  the  Indian  women  and  children.  The  women  in  America  worked 
from  the  first  with  the  men  for  the  support  of  the  missionaries  in  the  field. 

Miss  Sarah  P.  Merrill  of  Stratham,  N.  H.,  was  the  first  single  woman 
missionary  sent  out  by  the  Freewill  Baptist  Missionary  Society  in  1846. 
Within  a  year  she  became  Mrs.  O.  R.  Bacheler.  During  the  days  of  the 
"  Female  Missionary  Society "  the  women  worked  separately  but  passed 
their  funds  through  the  general  treasury.  The  first  single  woman  sent  out 
under  this  arrangement  was  Miss  Lavina  Crawford  of  Arkwright,  N.  Y., 
who  sailed  from  Boston  in  October  1850  and  gave  a  long  life  of  wonderful 
service  to  the  children  of  India. 

Orphanages.  —  Conditions  in  India  combine  to  make  the  lives  of  its 
women  pitiable  and  appealing  in  the  extreme.  Famine  and  disease,  sin 
and  neglect  leave  many  children  helpless  and  homeless.  A  natural  re- 
sult was  the  founding  of  orphanages. 

Such  conditions  brought  a  number  of  children  under  the  care  of  our 
earliest  missionaries,  Mrs.  Phillips  and  Mrs.  Bacheler.  The  number  was 
increased  by  several  groups  of  boys  and  girls  from  the  Khond  Hills,  res- 
cued by  the  government  militia  from  human  sacrifice  and  placed  in  the 
hands  of  Dr.  O.  R.  Bacheler.  Mrs.  Sarah  Bacheler  cared  for  these 
from  1847  to  1851.  When  Miss  Crawford  arrived  in  India,  the  care  of 
these  girls  became  her  work.  She  says,  "I  was  soon  introduced  to  the 
Girls'  Orphan  Asylum — my  work.  As  soon  as  I  had  learned  a  few  words 
and  the  names  of  the  girls  they  were  made  over  to  my  charge.  I  could 
direct  the  sewing  and  other  work  of  the  girls,  but  when  spoken  to  in 
three  unknown  tongues  I  sympathized  with  the  Babelites.  Oriyas,  Ben- 
galis and  Khonds  were   of   the   number."      During   the   entire   period   of 


40  The  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society 

Miss  Crawford's  long  service  in  India,  1850-1882,  she  had  the  care  of 
these  girls  in  home  and  in  school,  often  much  additional  work,  but  al- 
ways the  girls.  The  decade  from  1851-1861  they  continued  in  Balasore. 
Then  Miss  Crawford  came  to  America  leaving  the  girls  with  Mrs.  D.  F. 
Smith.  On  her  return  in  1861  she  at  once  moved  the  Orphanage  to  Jell- 
asore,  twenty-eight  miles  north.  She  gave  here  more  than  a  score  of  years 
of  continuous  service,  building  Christian  character  and  training  home 
makers. 

From  1873  our  Woman's  Missionary  Society  chose,  outfitted  and 
maintained  its  own  work  and  workers.  In  1882,  when  the  tired  hands  of 
Miss  Crawford  dropped,  it  was  our  missionary.  Miss  Hattie  Phillips, 
who  filled  the  gap  from  April  to  November,  when  Mrs.  Dorcas  Smith, 
widowed  returning  to  India  under  the  Woman's  Board  took  over  the  work. 
To  it  she  gave  the  remainder  of  her  life  the  work  passing  from  her  hands 
only  when  she  passed  to  the  better  world.  This  continuous  training  un- 
der two  such  able  women  wrought  splendid  results  in  the  lives  of  the 
girls.  Miss  Crawford's  girls,  scattered  throughout  our  Field,  now  passing 
one  by  one,  have  been  among  the  ideal  home  makers,  the  strong  church 
supporters,  the  able  and  devoted  teachers  and  Bible  women  of  our  Mission; 
notably  Rutnie  Sing,  an  able  Bible  woman  in  Balasore;  Emily,  a  favorite 
with  Miss  Crawford,  a  Zenana  teacher  in  Midnapore,  who  did  fine  work, 
married  and  had  several  children;  Betsy,  who  was  with  Miss  Crawford 
and  held  her  hand  for  the  last  written  message,  married  in  Midnapore  and 
did  Zenana  work;  Jhumpi,  a  devoted  Zenana  teacher  in  Balasore  for  many 
years,  married  and  brought  up  a  good  family.  Among  Mrs.  Smith's  girls 
we  would  mention  Rachel  Das,  now  Mrs.  Bose,  a  senior-trained,  normal 
graduate,  head  mistress  by  turns  of  our  Midnapore  and  Balasore  Christian 
girls  schools  and  mother  of  three  lovely  girls.  It  was  in  Mrs.  Smith's 
term  that  the  orphanage  was  moved  from  Jellasore  to  Balasore,  became 
housed  in  its  beautiful  present  building,  and  named  "  The  Sinclair 
Orphanage." 

The  Superintendent  of  the  Orphanage  has  a  lively  and  varied 
career.  With  her  time  does  not  drag,  nor  days  pass  in  monotony.  From 
early  morning  till  late  at  night  her  tasks  claim  her,  and  if  there  be  guests 
arriving  or  departing,  or  sickness  in  the  family  the  night  becomes  as 
day.  The  day  begins  with  the  rationing  of  meals  for  the  orphanage  family, 
and  the   missionary  family;    then   girls'  prayers   in   their  house,   servants' 


Foreign  Mission,  Bengal-Orissa,  India  41 

prayers  in  the  bungalow,  the  overseeing  of  the  girls  at  their  morning's 
work  —  the  drawing  of  water,  washing,  cooking  and  cleaning.  Then  her 
medical  duties  come  on;  whether  or  no  she  be  a  doctor  she  must  perform 
the  office  of  physician  to  her  large  family,  examining  for  fever,  skin  diseases, 
intestinal  troubles,  often  compounding  her  own  medicine  and  personally 
administering  the  same.  Village  callers  take  time.  Then  stores  of  food, 
wood  and  coal  must  be  purchased,  cloth  for  dresses  and  sheets  ordered  from 
hundreds  of  miles  away,  mats  for  sleeping  must  be  kept  on  hand  for  regular 
and  extra  need,  and,  most  appalling  of  all,  accounts  strictly  kept  and  balanced 
for  the  inspection  of  the  mission  auditor. 

The  Orphanage  Superintendent  nearly  always  has  duties  outside  the 
institution,  so  in  the  afternoon  away  she  goes  on  bicycle,  or  in  gari,  to  visit 
schools.  Zenanas,  or  meet  committees.  Then,  when  the  children  return 
from  school,  there  are  the  sewing  and  mending  classes,  special  needs  and 
causes  to  be  attended  to,  and  the  evenings  are  replete  with  prayer-meeting 
groups,  and  converts'  classes.  She  is  supposed  to  care  for  the  health,  the 
morals,  the  domestic  and  spiritual  training  of  her  girls.  In  between  these  • 
events  the  Superintendent  gets  in,  as  best  as  she  can,  the  meals  of  the  day, 
family  prayers  with  the  bungalow  family,  a  brief  rest  at  noon,  and  a 
formidable  lot  of  correspondence.  It  is  no  wonder  that  the  vacation  finds 
her  thoroughly  exhausted,  when,  for  a  brief  period,  she  may  gain  respite 
from  the  demands  of  her  flock.  She  is  rewarded  for  her  efforts  by  such 
results  as  are  seen  in  the  lives  of  her  girls ;  —  Chandri,  by  turns,  school 
teacher,  helper  in  the  sewing  classes  and  supervisor  of  Zenana  teachers, 
ever  wiUing  and  ready  to  do  anything  that  will  help;  Kenari,  keen,  English 
speaking,  educated  to  college  entrance,  teacher  in  Christian  Girls  Schools 
in  Balasore,  then  Bhimpore,  now  Midnapore;  the  three  sisters,  Kamini, 
Sarola  and  Promodini  MulUck,  of  Santali  and  Oriya  parentage,  —  Kamini 
now  matron  in  the  Girls  Orphanage  at  Bhimpore;  Sarola  trained  in  lace 
making,  now  teacher  of  it;  Promodini,  a  very  sweet  girl,  though  quite 
young,  a  beloved  Zenana  teacher;  and  many  others  of  our  bright,  useful 
young  women  of  to-day. 

Subsequent  to  its  coming  under  the  charge  of  F.  B.  W.  M.  S.,  the 
record  of  Sinclair  Orphanage  Superintendents  is:  Miss  Hattie  P.  Phillips, 
April  1882-Nov.  1882;  Mrs.  Dorcas  F.  Smith,  Nov.  1882-April  1891;  Miss 
Lavina  Coombs,  April  1891-Jan.  1893  (30  girls);  Mrs.  Smith,  Jan.  1893- 
Feb.    1899;   Miss  L.   E.   Gaunce,   Feb.    1899-:\Iarch   1902;    Miss  Emilie   E. 


42  The  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society 

Barnes,  Mar.  1902-Feb.  1904;  Miss  M.  Ethel  Dawson,  Feb.  1904-March 
1906;  Dr.  Shirley  H.  Smith,  March  1906-Oct.  1906;  Miss  Dawson,  Oct. 
1906-March  1907;  Mrs.  Julia  P.  Burkholder,  March  1907-Dec.  1908; 
Mrs.  S.  E.  Ager,  Dec.  1908-April  1910;  Miss  Barnes,  April  1910-March 
1913  (65-75  girls);  Miss  Amy  B.  Coe,  March  1913-April  1916  (75-80 
girls);  Dr.  Mary  W.  Bacheler,  April  1916-Feb.  1921;  Miss  Coe,  Feb.  1921- 
(90  girls). 

Schools.  The  first  missionary  in  our  field,  Mrs.  Phillips,  gathered  a 
few  stray  children  and  began  a  school.  Other  missionaries  did  the  same. 
These  waifs  who  were  the  nuclei  of  the  future  orphanages,  together  with 
the  children  in  the  homes  of  the  earliest  converts,  formed  the  material  for 
the  first  girls'  schools.  These  Christian  schools  established  in  every  station, 
were  followed  in  due  course,  as  confidence  was  gained,  by  village  and 
jungle  schools  for  Hindu  girls.  These  latter  have  not  yet  reached  above 
primary  grade.  The  Christian  Girls  Schools  in  Midnapore  and  Balasore 
are  of  higher  grade,  the  latter  fitting  for  High  School. 

Early  in  the  history  of  Midnapore,  Mrs.  Mary  R.  Phillips  and  Miss 
Julia  Phillips  gathered  the  children  of  the  streets  into  what  they  called 
ragged  schools.  They  met  under  trees,  on  verandas,  wherever  a  place  was 
available.  This  grew  into  a  large  work  with  many  schools  in  many  villages 
about  Midnapore  numbering  five  or  six  hundred  children.  Later  these 
were  called  Hindu  village  schools,  and  were  for  many  years  under  the  super- 
vision of  Miss  Butts,  and  more  recently  Miss  Daniels.  Once  a  year  these 
schools  met  together  in  Midnapore  for  a  celebration.  As  Christmas  was 
the  gala  day  for  the  Christian  schools,  New  Year's  day  was  the  "  great 
day  "  for  the  Hindu  schools.  These  Hindu  schools  for  girls  and  very  young 
boys  have  been  formed  in  many  villages  about  every  mission  station.  They 
are  usually  in  care  of  the  missionary  in  charge  of  the  Christian  Girls'  School 
in  each  station.  Miss  Butts  says  of  these  village  schools  in  1903:  "The 
standard  scholarship  course  for  girls,  adopted  by  all  girls'  schools  in  Cal- 
cutta and  vicinity,  has  been  introduced  into  all  our  girls'  schools,  and  a 
special  effort  is  being  made  to  induce  the  little  girls  to  pass  the  fourth 
standard  which  corresponds  to  the  lower  primary  course  for  boys,  except 
that  it  substitutes  needle  work  for  the  more  advanced  Arithmetic  work." 
Miss  Butts  says,  "  There  are  still  hundreds  of  villages  in  which  there  are 
no  schools.  In  the  past  the  majority  have  had  little  desire  for  education 
for  their  girls,  but  with  the  coming  of  the  steamboat,  the  railroad,  the 


Foreign  Mission,  Bengal-Orissa,  India  43 

post-office,  the  telegraph,  introduced  by  the  British  administration  there  has 
come  to  many  a  humble  village  father  a  new  outlook  for  his  sons  and 
daughters.  So  these  villages  are  willing  to  allow  Christian  instruction  if 
by  so  doing  they  can  secure  teachers  in  secular  branches  for  their  children. 
I  have  been  obliged  to  refuse  many  petitions  for  schools  this  past  year. 
The  Christian  Indian  inspector  when  asked  what  good  he  considered  these 
Hindu  village  schools  accomplished  promptly  replied,  "  First,  we  are  increas- 
ing intelligence  among  the  illiterate  classes,  a  good  work,  and  second,  we  are 
spreading  a  knowledge  of  the  Gospel  in  places  where  it  was  never  before 
heard,  a  still  better  work.  For  whatever  the  children  learn  is  repeated  and 
discussed  by  the  grown-ups  of  the  village." 

It  is  in  the  Christian  Girls'  Schools  that  our  leaders  for  future  Christian 
work  are  trained  and  special  attention  has  always  been  given  to  these 
schools  in  our  larger  centers.  Our  Midnapore  Girls'  School  building  was 
entirely  renovated  and  improved  in  1914  with  cement  roof  and  widened 
verandas,  so  that  a  re-dedication  celebration  was  held  at  which  the  writer 
had  the  pleasure  of  being  present.  Mrs.  Rachael  Das  Bose  was  at  this  time 
mistress  of  this  school  and  Shanta  Baba  Rai,  a  graduate  of  the  school,  who 
received  her  high  school  education  in  Calcutta,  was  for  a  time  assistant. 
Later  her  sister,  Khanto  Bala  Rai,  who  has  had  two  years  of  college  work, 
was  assistant  here  before  coming  to  America.  A  good  number  of  girls 
have  gone  up  from  this  school  to  Calcutta  for  higher  education.  We  are 
now  promised  out  of  the  Jubilee  Funds  a  Girls'  High  School  for  Midna- 
pore that  shall  serve  the  Bengali,  Oriya  and  Santali  girls  of  our  field.  The 
Balasore  Christian  Girls'  School  has  been  buffeted  about  in  very  unsatisfac- 
tory housing  all  these  years  but  in  1920  they  came  into  their  beautiful  new 
building.  It  was  raised  from  Middle  Vernacular  to  Middle  English  in  grade 
in  1920.  That  is,  in  the  former  the  study  of  English  was  optional,  in  the 
latter  it  is  compulsory  above  the  third  grade.  At  the  same  time  the  Govern- 
ment stipend  was  raised  to  ninety  rupees  a  month.  The  Government 
Instructress,  and  the  educated  Babus  of  Balasore,  have  on  many  occasions 
spoken  high  words  of  commendation  of  the  work  done  in  our  Christian 
Girls'  School.  A  number  of  our  girls  from  Balasore  have  gone  on  for  higher 
education,  —  to  Calcutta  for  High  School  and  Cuttack  for  Normal  Train- 
ing, or  to  Berampore  for  Nurses'  Training.  Nermola  Nayak,  one  of  our 
Balasore  girls,  is  the  first  girl  in  the  Province  of  Orissa  to  take  a  full 
college  course  and  win  her  B.  A.  degree.     Following  that,  she  became  a 


Group  of  Educated   Christian  Girls 
Bengal-Orissa 


Foreign  Mission,  Bengal-Orissa,  India  45 

teacher  in  the  Government  High  School  in  Cuttack.  later  served  as  Assistant 
Inspectress  of  schools  in  Orissa,  and  has  now  been  sent  to  England  to 
study  at  Government  expense. 

Kindergartens.  —  The  first  Kindergarten  opened  in  our  field  was  in 
Balasore  through  the  efforts  of  Miss  Hattie  Phillips.  Her  niece.  Miss  Beebee 
Phillips  (daughter  of  Dr.  J.  L.  and  Mary  R.  Phillips,  a  third  generation  Phil- 
lips in  India),  became  the  first  Kindergarten  Missionary,  formally  opening 
the  school  in  1896.  Others  quickly  followed,  one  in  Oriya  at  Santipore  in 
1898,  organized  by  Dr.  Helen  M.  Phillips;  one  in  Bengali  at  Midnapore 
in  1900,  by  Mrs.  H.  E.  Wyman;  one  in  Oriya  at  Chanbali  in  1902,  by 
yixs.  Ager;  one  in  Oriya  for  Santal  children  at  Santipore  in  1905,  by  Mrs. 
Grififin;  one  in  Bengali  for  Santal  children  at  Bhimpore,  by  Mrs.  Kennan; 
and  a  kindergarten  department  in  the  girls'  school  at  Contai.  Though  this 
movement  was  started  by  a  missionary  of  the  Woman's  Board,  none  of 
these  schools  except  the  first  one  at  Balasore,  is  in  charge  of  the 
F.  B.  W.  M.  S. 

On  the  marriage  of  Miss  Beebee  Phillips,  in  1897,  her  aunt.  Miss  Hattie 
Phillips,  with  native  assistance  assumed  charge  until  Miss  Gowen  arrived 
(October  1909)  and  gained  a  working  knowledge  of  Oriya.  Miss  Amy 
Porter  took  it  from  her  in  1916,  and  in  1921  Miss  Gladys  Doe  became 
head  of  the  kmdergarten  work. 

A  kindergarten  normal  training  school  was  maintained  for  several 
years,  before  and  after  1910.  Our  first  Indian  kindergarten  teachers  were 
thus  prepared.  Later  it  was  deemed  expedient  to  send  our  limited  number 
of  girls  taking  such  training  to  the  English  Baptist  school  in  Cuttack. 


WIDOWS'    HOME 

The  idea  of  a  Widows'  Home  for  our  Field  was  conceived  in  the 
heart  of  Dorcas  Smith,  but  hovered  there  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  be- 
fore assuming  tangible  form.  Since  1898  it  has  serv^ed  about  one  hundred 
of  India's  needy  women.  Neither  this  nor  the  widows'  home  of  the  Pundita 
Pvamabai  have  fulfilled  the  purpose  for  which  they  were  intended,  the 
saving  of  high  caste  girl  widows.  Family  pride  and  prejudice  would  quench 
life  itself  rather  than  give  the  girl  to  Christian  succor.  But  other  needy 
girls  and  women  have  come  and  gone  receiving  temporary  shelter  and 
assistance.     From  twelve  to  twenty  are  accommodated  at  a  time.     They 


46 


The  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society 


are  given  shelter,  a  sari  and  jacket  at  Christmas,  if  in  school  a  weekly 
stipend  for  food,  if  not,  means  of  earning  money  to  buy  food  and  clothes. 
Their  labor  is  unskilled,  —  carrying  bricks  or  mortar  for  building,  clean- 
ing up  the  compound,  husking  rice  or  making  grass  rope.  Some  of  the 
younger  women  who  have  remained  longer  have  learned  to  crochet.  One 
young  girl  has  married  and  gone  to  another  station  to  live.  Another  has 
refused  offers  of  marriage.  Three  have  been  baptized  and  joined  the 
church.  Kuni  is  perhaps  the  best  fruit  of  the  Widows'  Home.  She  came 
to  us  when   about   eighteen,   right   from   heathenism,   entered    the   lowest 


Dorcas  Smith   Widows'   Home 
Balasore,  Orissa 


primary  grade  and  by  persistence  has  made  progress.  She  is  of  a  happy, 
loving  disposition.  She  has  become  a  Christian  and  wants  to  fit  herself 
for  Christian  work.  Several  visits  have  been  made  by  her  to  her  heathen 
village  with  good  results. 

Mrs.  Smith  says,  in  one  article  by  her,  printed  after  her  death  in 
1899,  "  It  is  only  a  few  out  of  the  millions  that  we  shall  be  able  to  reach, 
but  the  God  whom  we  serve  only  requires  faithfulness  in  doing  what  we 
can  in  His  service." 

Zefianas.  At  the  present  time  education  in  India  is  only  for  one  girl 
out  of  one  hundred  and  forty-four;  and  that  one  in  most  cases  must  get 


Foreign  Mission,  Bengal-Orissa,  India 


47 


what  she  is  to  receive  before  she  is  twelve  years  of  age.  For,  by  that 
age  the  great  majority  of  India's  girls  have  the  burden  of  domestic  duties 
thrust  upon  them  by  marriage.  And  school  for  them  is  only  a  brief,  in- 
terrupted dream  of  the  past.  The  Christian  girl  remains  unmarried  until 
she  is  at  least  sixteen,  and  many  longer,  while  they  pursue  higher  educa- 
tion. If  then,  the  married,  or  betrothed,  girl  of  the  Zenana  is  to  have 
anything  that  the  school  can  give  her,  the  school  must  go  to  her. 

This  was  early  recognized  by  our  missionaries.     But  an  entrance  into 
these  closed  or  purdah  homes,  was  not  easy  to  obtain,  and  confidence  must 


Zenana  Teachers 


first  be  inspired  by  long  residence  and  tactful  dealing  on  the  part  of  the 
missionary. 

It  was  in  February,  1866,  that  entrance  was  gained  into  the  first  Hindu 
Zenanas,  by  Miss  Julia  Phillips,  and  Mrs.  Mary  R.  Phillips  at  Midnapore. 
It  came  about  through  the  desire  of  a  Babu  for  embroidered  slippers. 
Learning  that  the  missionary  could  teach  his  wife  this  art,  he  reluctantly 
consented  to  the  religious  teaching  that  must  accompany  it  in  order  to 
gain  her  services.  The  desire  for  embroidered  slippers  spread  from  house 
to  house  and  so  the  doors  opened  for  Christian  teaching.  More  difficult 
was  it  to  gain  admission  to  Moslem  homes.  The  achievement  was  made 
in  this  way:    Mary   Bacheler,   in   India  as   a   child,   often   went  with  her 


48  The  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society 

father  on  his  visits  to  the  sick.  One  evening  in  1867  he  went  to  see  a 
Mussulman  of  high  rank.  A  crowd  gathered  about  little  Mary  left  in  the 
buggy  outside.  A  member  of  the  household  asked  her  to  go  inside  and 
see  the  ladies.  She  went  fearlessly.  The  ladies  gathered  about  her  in 
wonder  and  admiration,  and  when  her  father  called  for  her  they  invited 
her  to  come  again.  She  asked  if  her  mother  might  come  too,  and  was 
answered  in  the  affirmative.  Of  course  her  mother  went,  and  went  again. 
This  was  the  first  Mohammedan  Zenana  opened  to  Christian  teaching  in 
the  Province  of  Bengal.  The  rank  and  influence  of  this  family  was  the 
means  of  opening  other  homes.  Since  those  days  in  the  late  sixties,  regular 
school  instruction  and  Christian  teaching  have  been  carried  on  in  an  in- 
creasing number  of  homes  in  the  vicinity  of  all  our  mission  stations.  For 
a  number  of  years  this  work  has  been  limited  only  by  the  number  of  avail- 
able teachers  meeting  educational  requirements.  The  British  Government 
now  gives  a  generous  grant-in-aid  for  this  work  which  is  under  its  inspec- 
tion, the  same  as  is  all  our  educational  work.  Reading,  writing,  number 
work  and  sewing  are  taught,  and  higher  branches  if  there  is  a  demand. 
And  always  Bible  verses,  stories.  Christian  hymns,  and  a  brief  catechism 
are  taught.  Mission  prizes  are  given  only  for  the  Bible  work  done.  When 
a  pupil  can  tell  six  or  more  stories  well  she  is  given  a  New  Testament. 
There  are  hundreds  of  New  Testaments  in  the  Hindu  and  Mohammedan 
homes  throughout  Bengal-Orissa  acquired  in  this  way.  In  Balasore  alone 
fourteen  Christian  women  go  two  or  three  times  each  week  to  three  hun- 
dred and  thirty  women,  explaining  salvation  and  the  way  to  walk  therein. 
Among  our  Zenana  pupils  are  those  from  the  wealthiest  Hindu  and  Mo- 
hammedan homes,  as  well  as  many  from  the  very  poorest.  Mrs.  Burk- 
holder  says  of  the  difficulties,  "  The  pupils  are  constantly  changing.  The 
Httle  wives  are  sent  away  to  their  husbands'  homes  and  we  lose  sight  of 
them.  Those  who  are  in  their  husbands'  homes  are  frequently  sick  from 
unsanitary  conditions  or  child-birth.  An  epidemic  of  cholera  and  smallpox 
may  break  out  and  the  Zenanas  be  closed  to  visitation  for  a  number  of 
weeks.  And  then  there  are  the  endless  number  of  Moslem  and  Hindu 
festivals  that  hinder  progress.  But  if  one  door  closes  another  opens  and 
we  go  steadily  on  with  our  work." 

The  Secretary  recalls  a  visit  with  Miss  Sadie  Gowen,  to  Rosie  Babu's 
house,  typical  of  the  better  sort.  Rosie  Babu  is  a  Zemindar,  or  land 
owner,  renting  his  fields  in  small  sections  to  poor  cultivators.     His  house 


Foreign  Mission,  Bcngal-Orissa,  India 


49 


is  a  large  one  covering  a  quarter  of  a  block.  She  remembers  the  mazes 
of  its  corridors  leading  through  a  bewildering  series  of  courts  and  rooms. 
Eighty  people  live  here,  all  related  in  some  way  to  one  another.  One  is  a 
teacher  of  Sanscrit  in  our  Christian  Boys'  High  School,  another  speaks 
good  Enghsh  and  was  formerly  a  Deputy  Inspector  of  Schools  for  Bala- 
sore.  Among  the  many  women  of  the  household,  ten  are  pupils  of  our 
Zenana  School.  One  is  a  mother  at  thirteen  years.  Another  is  a  widow, 
mourning  bitterly   at   times   for  a  husband  whom   she   never   saw  because 


Balasore  Christmas  Group  1914 


he  died  when  she  was  five  years  old.  Another,  most  interesting  in  our 
teachings,  had  recently  become  a  widow.  It  was  easy  to  know  it.  All 
her  gold  chains  and  bracelets  were  gone,  and  only  the  plainest  cloth  formed 
the  setting  of  a  sorrowful  face.  Miss  Gowen  says,  "  In  India,  as  else- 
where, affliction  brings  people  to  a  sense  of  their  helplessness,  and  at  such 
times  many  pupils  have  been  brought  very  near  to  the  true  Source  of  help. 
There  are  secret  believers  not  a  few  in  the  fine  residences  and  in  the  little 
mud-walled,  thatched-roofed  houses  in  and  about  Balasore."  This  is  equally 
true  of  the  other  parts  of  our  Field  where  the  white-robed  Christian  teachers 
go  with  their  message  of  love  and  cheer,  followed  in  their  round,  once  a 
month,    by    the    educational    missionary    having    Zenana    work    in    charge. 


50  The  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society 

"  Time  was,"  says  Mrs.  Burkholder,  "  when  we  had  to  plead  with  the 
women  to  learn  to  read.  The  reply  was,  '  No,  we  cannot,  for  we  will  be- 
come widows  if  we  do.'  '  She  is  nothing  but  a  woman,'  was  the  attitude 
of  man  toward  womanhood.  Now,  how  changed!  Colleges  for  women 
have  been  established,  and  girls  from  Hindu  homes  have  even  braved  cus- 
toms and  public  sentiment  and  crossed  the  seas  to  England  and  America 
in  search  of  knowledge.  Now  when  a  bride  is  sought,  the  question  is 
asked,  '  What  of  her  education?  What  examinations  has  she  passed?  '  " 
And  so  even  in  India  sentiment  has  changed  in  the  more  than  fifty  years 
now  (1866-1921)  since  Zenana  work  began  in  Bengal-Orissa. 

Bible  Womeji.  The  directly  evangelistic  work  for  women  is  carried 
on  by  Bible  Women.  This  began  as  soon  as  there  was  a  Christian  woman 
sufficiently  matured  and  devout  in  the  Christian  way  to  go  forth  and  lead 
others.  None  but  elderly  women,  of  Christian  experience,  are  quahfied 
for  this  work,  or  are  safe  to  go  where  they  have  to  go.  Mariam  and 
Rutnie  are  two  of  our  earliest  and  best  Bible  Women  who  have  continued 
down  to  the  present  year.  Miss  Coe  says,  "  A  Bible  Woman  goes  out 
each  day  to  tell  the  Gospel  story  wherever  she  has  opportunity.  She  is 
much  more  exposed  than  the  Zenana  Teacher,  who  goes  only  to  her  own 
pupils,  who  are  expecting  her,  and  where  she  has  a  comparatively  secluded 
place  for  the  lesson."  The  Bible  Woman  seeks  the  woman  where  she  is, 
busy  in  her  court-yard,  at  her  tasks,  willing  to  listen  but  a  few  moments, 
or,  in  the  open,  along  the  roads,  in  the  bazaars  and  market  places,  where 
her  story  has  many  interruptions.  She  must  be  ready  to  meet  the  taunts 
and  arguments  of  men,  to  tramp  long  distances  and  to  keep  sweet  and 
courageous  under  all  circumstances.  The  approach  is  made  by  a  courteous 
greeting,  an  inquiry  for  the  health  of  husband  and  son;  then  a  song  and 
by  way  of  its  explanation  is  included  the  story  of  salvation  through  Jesus 
Christ. 

Mofussil  Work.  Perhaps  there  is  no  work  the  missionary  loves  so 
well  as  the  cold  season,  country  touring  when  villages  are  entered  that  are 
visited  but  once  a  year,  or  in  many  cases,  only  once  in  a  number  of  years. 
Tent  and  equipment  are  taken  along  and  the  missionary  lives  for  a  number 
of  weeks  in  a  new  environment,  an  environment  fraught  with  wonderful 
possibilities  for  seed  sowing.  One  or  more  Bible  Women  are  a  part  of 
the  touring  party,  and  together  they  tramp  the  highways  and  by-ways, 
across  rice  fields  from  village  to  village  and  from  Market  to  Jatra.     Books 


Foreign  Mission,  Bengal-Orissa,  India  51 

and  tracts  are  taken  along  for  sale  and  free  distribution.  Sometimes  Dr. 
Mary  takes  along  her  flute-harmonium  and  delights  the  people  with  song 
and  music.  This  never  fails  to  bring  listeners.  The  magic  lantern  is  con- 
sidered by  Dr.  Mary  and  other  missionaries  to  be  one  of  the  best  ways 
of  presenting  the  Gospel  to  Hindu  audiences  and  mixed  audiences.  In  this 
way  a  continuous  story  is  gotten  while  the  attention  is  held  through  both 
the  ear  and  the  eye.  The  screen  hung  in  a  big  open  doorway  affords  view 
for  the  women  from  within  the  house,  and  the  men  outside  in  the  court- 
yard. I've  heard  a  woman  say,  when  out  with  Mrs.  Burkholder  near 
Midnapore,  "  That  sounds  good!  your  words  cool  the  burning  of  my  heart!  " 
And  another,  when  out  with  Miss  Coe  at  Jellasore,  "  Did  you  say  your 
God  loved  a  woman?  and  a  widow?  I'm  old,  tell  it  to  the  young  women." 
Many  a  soul  is  saved  for  the  Kingdom  in  this  happy  work. 


Properties. 

Our  Free  Baptist  property  holdings  in  Bengal-Orissa  are  distinguished 
for  their  stragetic  locations  in  the  several  centers  where  we  carry  on  work; 
their  broad  acres  allowing  for  improvements  and  providing  ample  breathing 
space.  Four  properties  are  owned  by  our  Woman's  Board,  one  in  Midnapore 
and  three  in  Balasore. 

Henderson  Home.  The  piece  of  land  in  Midnapore  now  occupied  by 
Henderson  Home  was  a  part  of  the  military  cantonment  in  the  days  long 
ago,  when  Midnapore  was  a  military  station.  Our  General  Board  pur- 
chased it  for  the  erection  of  a  printin7  establishment,  and  on  the  founda- 
tions of  a  former  military  structure  Dr.  O.  R.  Bacheler  erected  the  first 
building  for  a  Christian  printing  press  in  Bengal-Orissa.  Much  needed 
literature  was  put  forth.  During  the  ensuing  years  other  presses,  by  other 
interests,  were  erected  in  Midnapore  and  Calcutta,  and  it  was  thought  wise 
to  close  our  press.  Then  it  was  that  our  Woman's  Board  bought  the 
property,  remodeling  and  enlarging  it,  making  it  suitable  for  a  dwelling 
house.  A  woman  in  Gonic,  New  Hampshire,  gave  the  funds  for  this  re- 
modeling and  the  home  is  named  in  memory  of  her  mother,  Henderson 
Home.  The  residence  is  the  home  of  our  single  women  missionaries.  It 
is  one  story,  has  six  rooms  with  verandas  at  front  and  rear.  When  Dr. 
Mary  Bacheler  lived  here,  one  room  was  fitted  up  as  her  office  and  known 
as  the  Brown  Dispensary.       This  residence  was  long  the  home  of  Miss 


52 


The  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society 


Coombs,  Miss  Butts  and  Dr.  Mary;  later  of  Mrs.  Burkholder,  Mrs.  Holden 
and  Miss  Daniels.  Opposite  Henderson  Home  is  the  Bacheler  bungalow 
of  the  General  Board  on  whose  compound  is  the  Girls'  School,  toward 
whose  building  the  Woman's  Society  gave  a  substantial  sum.  Farther  along 
the  same  road  is  the  Phillips  bungalow.  Southwest  from  Henderson  Home 
is   the   Phillips   Memorial   Bible   Training   School,  housed   in   Deering   Hall, 


Henderson  Home,  Midnapore,  Bengal 


the   most   pretentious   structure   in   our    Mission.        Northeast,    across    the 
Jaganath  road  is  the  Midnapore  Church. 

Sinclair  Orphanage.  When  it  became  desirable  to  remove  the  Girls' 
Orphanage  from  Jellasore  to  Balasore  in  1886,  there  was  no  suitable  building 
to  house  the  girls.  The  transfer  was  made  into  temporary  quarters,  and 
Mrs.  Dorcas  F.  Smith,  then  in  charge,  kept  her  eyes  open  for  possibihties. 
Learning  that  a  certain  English  residence  was  on  the  market,  she  at  once 
took  steps  to  secure  an  option,  and  sent  home  an  urgent  message  for  funds 
and  authority  to  purchase.  Not  waiting  for  an  answer  she  took  possession 
in  her  own  name,  later  transferring  the  same  to  the  Woman's  Board. 


Foreign  Mission,  Bcngal-Orissa,  India  53 

In  America,  the  news  of  the  need  came  to  the  attention  of  Rev.  J.  L. 
and  Olive  E.  Sinclair  of  New  Hampshire,  friends  of  Mrs.  Smith,  and  they 
at  once  furnished  the  purchase  price  of  the  property,  stipulating  that  Mrs. 
Smith  have  the  right  of  a  home  here  as  long  as  she  should  live.  By  the 
wish  of  the  Society  the  name  Sinclair  was  given  to  the  home.  It  was 
occupied  by  Mrs.  Smith  and  her  twenty-seven  girls  in  1888.  The  com- 
pound is  wide  and  spacious,  with  two  great  banyan  trees  over-arching  the 
entrance  gate.  The  residence  sits  well  in  from  the  road,  and  is  reached  by 
a  circular  driveway  around  a  heart-shaped  plat  of  lawn  and  tlowers  be- 
tween it  and  the  gate.  Its  wide  pillared  verandas,  and  imposing  entrance- 
porticos  banked  with  marvelous  tropical  greenery  give  it  a  palatial  appear- 
ance. It  is  the  most  beautiful  residence  in  Balasore,  indeed,  the  Secretary 
says,  "  It  is  the  most  beautiful  mission  home  she  saw  in  her  travels  around 
the  world."  It  is  five  rooms  wide  on  the  front  and  two  deep,  with  a  small 
upper-room  on  the  roof.  Indeed  the  roof  itself  picturesquely  balustraded 
is  used  for  many  purposes,  —  quiet  talks  with  the  girls,  Sunday  afternoon 
sings,  parties  and  socials.  We  can  never  be  grateful  enough  to  Mrs.  Smith 
and  Mrs.  Sinclair  for  securing  to  us  this  splendid  property. 

To  the  left  of  the  bungalow  are  the  girls'  houses,  to  the  rear  the  cook- 
houses, and  to  the  right  the  servants'  quarters  A  large  tank  and  a  well 
are  a  part  of  the  equipment.  In  IQIS  there  were  three  of  the  girls'  houses. 
In  that  year  the  poorest  one  was  taken  down,  and  a  fine  new  pucca  one 
(brick  and  cement)  erected  in  its  place,  connecting  with  the  other  dormi- 
tories giving  much  more  sanitary  and  safe  accommodations.  This  was  done 
through  the  generosity  of  three  of  our  mission  workers  on  the  field. 

Dorcas  Smith  Widows'  Home.  This  was  a  need  felt  by  many,  but 
the  peculiar  child  of  Mrs.  Smith's  love  and  prayers.  Her  zeal  interested 
many,  and  small  gifts  began  coming  into  the  treasury.  But  again  it  was 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sinclair  who  came  to  the  rescue,  and  gave  the  thousand 
dollars  that  should  secure  to  the  institution  the  name  of  their  friend  Dor- 
cas Smith.  It  was  Mrs.  Smith's  executive  ability  that  saw  to  the  erecting 
of  the  bungalow  and  other  buildings  in  1898.  She  witnessed  the  consumma- 
tion of  her  efforts  in  the  dedication,  October  22.  1898.  But  worn  out  by 
this  extra,  strenuous  effort  for  a  woman  over  seventy,  she  became  prone 
to  disease  and,  on  the  eve  of  her  departure  on  furlough,  Feb.  11,  1899, 
she  passed  to  the  higher  life. 

The  bungalow  is  a  small  three-room  house  with  connecting  storage  and 


54 


The  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society 


cook-house.  The  women's  houses,  three  in  number,  are  to  one  side  open- 
ing onto  a  court,  and  all  so  connected  as  to  be  under  lock  and  key  at  night. 
A  large  tank  is  in  the  rear.  The  compound  adjoins  the  Sinclair  com- 
pound of  which  it  was  a  part. 

A  word  about  the  generosity  of  Rev.  and  Mrs.  Sinclair.  Mr.  Sinclair 
inherited  his  father's  farm,  Mrs.  Sinclair,  one  thousand  dollars.  With 
this  nucleus,  and  a  salary  never  over  five  hundred  dollars  a  year,  they  lived 
simply  and  well,  entertained  hospitably,  brought  up  and  educated  a  son  to 
twenty  years  of  age,  when  he  died,  and  gave  thirty  thousand  dollars  to 
Missions,   a  financial  achievement  rarely  equalled. 

Caroline  Bradbury  Kindergarten  Hall.  The  Balasore  Kindergarten 
started  by  Miss  Hattie  Phillips,  formerly  opened  by  Miss  Beebee  Phillips, 


Bradbury    Kindergarten    Hall, 
Balasore,   Orissa 


a  trained  kindergartener,  in  18Q6,  was  housed  first  in  their  home,  next  in 
the  chapel,  then  in  a  discarded  boys'  school  building,  and,  until  each  in 
turn  was  over-run,  "  the  very  walls  bursting  out  with  Brownies,"  wrote 
Miss  Hattie  Phillips.  Then  a  site  was  purchased  on  the  Jaganath  Road, 
and  a  new  and  real  kindergarten  building  erected.  The  women  and  young 
people  of  Rhode  Island  were  given  the  privilege  of  raising  the  money  for, 
and  naming  this  building.  Considerable  sums  came  in,  and  from  one 
woman  five  hundred  dollars,  which  gave  the  privilage  of  naming.  This 
she  did,  giving  it  the  name  of  her  mother,  Caroline  L.  Bradbury,  who  was 
the  third  recording  secretary  of  the  Freewill  Baptist  Female  Missionary 
Society.     Bradbury   Kindergaten   Hall  was   erected   in    1904.     It  was    that 


Foreign  Mission,  Bengal-Orissa,  India 


55 


■t\ 


same  year  that  its  founder,  guardian,  and  moving  spirit.  Miss  Hattie  Phillips, 
became  Mrs.  J.  L.  Stone  and  returned  to  America.  As  a  wedding  gift,  Mr. 
Stone  gave  one  thousand  dollars  for  the  finishing  and  equipping  of  Kinder- 
garten Hall.  It  stands  as  a  worthy  product  of  their  united  interest.  It 
is  fifty-two  by  twenty-six  feet  with  a  wide  covered  veranda  all  the  way 
around.  At  one  end  of  the  Hall  is  a  beautiful  stained  glass  window  bear- 
ing the  singularly  appropriate 
words,  "  Before  they  call  I  will 
answer,  while  they  are  yet 
speaking  I  will  hear."  In  1904 
its  equipment  was  said  to  be 
the  best  of  any  kindergarten 
in  Orissa,  and  no  other  had  its 
own  building.  It  was  occupied 
in  January,  1905,  and  formally 
dedicated  by  July  26,  1905, 
when  there  were  seventy  chil- 
dren on  the  roll. 

Girls'  School.  The  appro- 
priation for  this  building  was 
made  by  our  Society,  plans 
approved  by  Government,  and 
part  of  the  material  gathered 
and  on  the  spot,  when  the 
World  War  put  a  halt  on  Gov- 
ernment grants  and  caused 
prices  to  soar  to  a  prohibitive 
height.  So  that  this  building, 
so  long  planned  and  needed,  did 
not    "  become,"    as    our    India 

friends  say,  until  1920.  Miss  Gowen  worked  on  the  plans  and  saw  the  bricks 
gathered  on  a  corner  of  the  lot.  Miss  Porter  re-adapted  the  plans  after  the 
war,  and  saw  the  walls  rise  to  completion.  But  it  remained  for  Miss  Coe  to 
consummate  the  enterprise  in  a  Dedication,  Aug.  20,  1920.  that  will  go 
down  as  a  memorable  day  in  the  history  of  the  School.  The  Magistrate 
and  dignitaries  of  Balasore  graced  the  occasion,  and  the  children  did  great 
credit  to  their  teachers  and  the  School.     The  school  building  is  in  two  wings 


/ 


Beraj   Morapatra  and  Kamalini   Chattigi 
Teachers  in   Girls'  School,  Balasore 


56  TJic  Free  Baptist  Womeiis  Missionary  Society 

extending  toward  the  highway  from  either  side  of  Kindergarten  Hall  and 
connected  with  it  at  the  corners  by  the  veranda  which  runs  continuously 
along  the  three  sides  of  the  court  thus  formed.  As  it  stands  it  forms  a 
single  educational  institution  with  Kindergarten  Hall  in  the  center,  and  a 
Girls'  School  wing  on  each  side  opening  out  to  the  great  Pilgrim  Road. 
All  our  mission  buildings  are  built  of  brick  and  cement,  with  steel  beams, 
and  whitened  outside  and  in.  Their  appearance  is  substantial  and  attrac- 
tive. 

Medical.  There  have  been  sent  to  our  Free  Baptist  Field  three  women 
physicians,  two  by  our  Woman's  Board.  Dr.  Helen  M.  Phillips  served 
under  the  General  Board  from  1S81  to  1002.  Dr.  Mary  W.  Bacheler. 
going  out  as  a  physician  in  18Q0,  is  still  in  active  service.  Dr.  Shirley  H. 
Smith  served  one  term  in  lOOO-lQOS.  The  latter  served  in  Balasore  and 
had  a  dispensary  on  the  Sinclair  compound.  The  greater  part  of  Dr.  Mary's 
medical  service  was  performed  in  Midnapore  where  she  ministered  from 
the  Brown  Dispensary. 

Industrial.  In  Miss  Crawford's  day.  we  hear  of  her  girls  doing  "  weav- 
ing, knitting,  and  sewing." 

Miss  Barnes  at  Bhadrak  in  1000.  says.  "  knitting  is  taught,  and  the 
sewing  class  pieced  and  sold  a  number  of  quilts." 

]\liss  Coombs  from  Midnapore  in  1003  writes  of  the  girls  of  the  Chris- 
tian school,  doing  "  sewing,  knitting,  and  canvas  work,  samples  of  which 
were  sent  to  Santipore  Mela  and  prizes  received." 

Such  reports  could  be  repeated  from  all  the  stations  of  our  ^lission.  In 
fhe  orphanages  the  girls  do  all  the  mending  and  a  considerable  portion  of 
the  sewing  that  is  done  for  the  large  number  of  girls.  The  Government 
requires  that  sewing  be  taught  in  the  schools.  In  later  years  and  at  the 
present  time  classes  in  Bhimpore  and  Midnapore  excel  in  pillow-lace  work, 
while  the  girls  and  women  of  Balasore  do  beautiful  crochet  edging  and 
doilies,  and  drawn-work  handkerchiefs.  These  products  find  a  ready  sale 
in  this  country  where  they  are  brought  by  missionaries  on  furlough.  And 
the  income  materially  assists  our  India  girls  in  their  school  or  home  life. 

Bible  Training.  In  each  station  Bible  Classes  are  conducted  once  or 
twice  a  week,  made  up  of  the  Bible  Women,  Zenana  and  school  teachers. 
Their  attendance  is  required  and  a  regular  course  of  study  is  pursued. 
-Mrs.  Burkholder  has  prepared  two  study  books  which  are  followed  in  these 
classes.     An  annual  examination  is  given  and  cash  prizes  awarded.     Every 


Foreign  Mission,  Bengal-Orissa,  India  57 

year  at  Midnapore  a  week  of  Institute  is  held  for  all  the  Indian  workers, 
men  and  women,  in  our  Field.  Here  again  examinations  are  taken  on  the 
class  instruction  and  lecture  courses.  During  Mrs.  Holder's  term  in  India, 
a  Bible  Training  School  to  prepare  young  women  to  enter  Christian  ser- 
vice, was  started  at  Midnapore.  There  were  nine  girls  in  the  first  year 
class.  The  second  year  there  were  fiv'e  in  the  first  year  class  and  seven 
in  the  second.  The  second  year  the  school  was  conducted  by  Miss  Daniels 
and  Mrs.  Murphy,  assisted  by  Indian  teachers.  When  Mrs.  Holder  and 
Miss  Daniels  came  home  on  furlough  the  school  was  temporarily  dis- 
continued. A  new  dormitory  is  promised  by  the  W.  A.  B.  F.  M.  S.  for 
this  school  when  it  is  reopened. 

Temperance.  "  It  is  a  matter  of  history,'"  says  Rev.  F.  L.  Wiley, 
"  that  among  religious  bodies.  Free  Baptists  were  the  first  to  declare  for 
temperance  reform.  They  early  incorporated  its  principles  into  their  church 
covenant  and  public  ministrations."  These  tenets  were  taken  by  our 
missionaries  into  their  work  in  India.  We  find  these  statements,  from  Miss 
Barnes  at  Bhadrak,  "A  temperance  catechism  is  taught  in  the  schools"; 
from  Miss  Butts  at  Midnapore,  "  Our  Christian  inspector  of  ragged  schools 
examines  the  pupils  monthly  in  temperance  lessons  ";  and,  from  Miss  Hattie 
Philhps  in  Balasore,  "  Scientific  Temperance  Instruction  has  been  given 
in  many  fields.  This  year  I  am  trying  to  induce  the  head-master  of  the 
Government  schools  to  do  the  same  here.''  Miss  Phillips  was  instrumental 
in  introducing  S.  T.  I.  into  the  schools  of  seven  or  eight  missions  of  Ben- 
gal. There  have  been  W^  C.  T.  U.'s  in  Balasore,  Midnapore  and  Kharag- 
pur.  The  Secretary  had  the  pleasure  of  attending  a  session  of  the  one  at 
Kharagpur.  "Tidings"  of  March,  1921,  tells  of  a  W.  C.  T,  U.  social  at 
the  Kharagpur  parsonage  to  which  husbands  and  friends  were  invited. 
It  says,  "  A  friendly  interest  towards  the  organization  was  aroused  in  the 
hearts  of  some  who  knew  little  about  it,  and  some  new  members  gained." 
Miss  Hattie  Phillips  was  President  of  the  Orissa  W.  C.  T.  U.  in  1895, 
while  at  the  same  time  her  sister-in-law,  Mrs.  Mary  R.  Phillips,  was  Presi- 
dent of  the  All-India  W.  C.  T.  U.  Each,  in  turn,  was  editor  of  "  The 
White  Ribbon  for  Asia."  Our  ministry  and  Christian  people  are  unusually 
free  from  the  use  of  intoxicants  and  narcotics.  And  the  use  of  "  pan,"  the 
national  indulgence  for  men  and  women,  young  and  old,  is  frowned  upon 
by  our  missionaries  and  ruled  against  in  our  Mission  institutions. 

Vacations.     Mav  is  the  month  of  intensest  heat  in  Bengal-Orissa,  be- 


58  The  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society 

fore  the  cooling  rains  "  break  "'  in  June.  It  is  the  time  of  vacation  from 
all  lines  of  endeavor.  Then  all  missionaries  who  can  do  so  leave  their 
posts  and  play.  Chandipore  is  nine  miles  east  of  Balasore  on  the  Bay  of 
Bengal.  It  is  called  the  "  Ocean  Park  of  India."  Here  our  Mission  has 
three  bungalows,  built  and  owned  first  by  individual  missionaries,  and 
later  purchased  by  the  Mission.  Although  in  the  same  latitude  this  place 
has  the  advantage  of  the  sea-breezes,  the  fine  bathing,  the  cooler  evenings 
on  the  sands,  the  freedom  from  folk,  and  absolute  quiet  for  reading,  writ- 
ing and  social  intercourse.  Here,  only  missionaries  from  our  own  Mission 
come;  and  here  they  enjoy  each  other.  Vacation  is  not  all  rest  though, 
for  there  are  stacks  of  letters  to  be  answered,  and  volumes  of  accounts 
to  be  caught  up. 

Many  seek  the  cooler  latitudes  of  the  hills.  This  is  desirable  for 
health,  at  least  every  other  year.  Five  hundred  miles  to  the  north  is 
Darjeeling,  7,000  feet  high,  the  summer  capital  of  Bengal  for  Government 
officials  and  hence  a  fashionable  social  center.  Many  missionaries  from 
many  missions  congregate  here,  but  of  particular  interest  to  us  are  those 
from  Bengal-Orissa  and  our  Baptist  Mission  in  Assam.  Delightful  social 
events,  inspirational  gatherings  and  entrancing  scenery  are  enjoyed  here. 
A  few  of  our  missionaries  wander  so  far  off  to  the  west  and  north  as  Nani 
Tal  and  even  Kashmir.  Another  favorite  rendezvous  is  Ootacamund,  nine 
hundred  miles  to  the  south,  in  the  Eastern  Ghats.  This  is  the  resort  for  all 
missions  in  south  India,  and  here  missionaries  from  our  two  Baptist  Fields 
of  Bengal-Orissa  and  the  Telegu  country  meet.  Although  not  so  high  as 
Darjeeling,  no  snow-capped  giant  peaks  in  sight,  the  setting  and  foliage  are 
peculiarly  beautiful,  and  Institutes  and  helpful  occasions  are  held  here 
throughout  the  season.  Our  Institutions  cannot  be  left  entirely  alone; 
some  workers  must  stay  by  the  "  stuff."  Such  usually  take  their  vacations 
in  September,  when,  at  the  close  of  the  rains,  is  another  hot  period,  be- 
fore the  lowering  of  the  mercury  in  October  bringing  in  the  relief  and  joy 
of  the  cold  season. 

Special  Events.  Christmas  is  the  great  celebration  of  the  year.  Most 
of  the  native  people  in  the  large  centers  know  at  least  the  name  and  are 
as  ready  with  the  familiar  salutation  as  are  folk  in  Christian  lands.  It  is 
the  time  when  everybody  from  beggar  to  Government  official  expects 
"  backsheesh  "  from  the  white  man.  It  is  the  time  when  the  Hindu  Rajah 
sends  gifts  to  the  missionary,  —  when  his  servants  appear  on  the  porch  with 


Foreign  Mission,  Bengal-Orissa,  India  59 

huge  trays  on  their  heads  laden  with  deHcious  fruits  with  the  compliments 
of  "His  Highness!"  In  the  mission  it  is  a  season  of  strenuous  work  for 
the  lady  missionaries,  and  of  intense  excitement  for  the  younger  constitu- 
ency. There  are  trees  in  Institutions  and  Churches.  All  of  the  orphanage 
children,  widows,  servants,  and  dependent  poor  who  must  be  provided  with 
clothing  sometime  are  so  provided  at  Christmas.  The  boxes  from  America 
are  then  a  joy  unspeakable,  for,  from  their  contents  all  the  orphanage 
children  of  school  age  are  supplied  with  book-bags,  and  pencils,  and  the 
younger  ones  with  dolls  and  toys.  The  native  events  for  the  day  over,  the 
missionaries  of  a  station  meet  together  in  the  evening  for  a  dinner,  tree  ■ 
and  social  time.  At  Jellasore,  New  Year's  Day  is  the  great  time,  with 
watch-meeting,  serenade  and  community  dinner. 

The  Indian  heathen  people  have  many  jatras  and  tamashas,  all  in  the 
name  of  religion.  Sachi  and  Gunga  Babus  —  both  Christians  of  Brahmin 
birth  —  believed  a  Christian  out-of-door  festival  would  be  helpful  to  our 
cause  as  a  demonstration  before  the  Hindus  and  Mohammedans  of  the 
glad  side  of  our  religion.  Such  a  festival  was  instituted,  and  named  for 
brother  Sachi,  who  died  shortly  after  its  innauguration,  the  Sachidananda 
Mela,  or  Festival  of  the  Life-Giving  Truth!  It  is  held  each  February  at 
Santipore  for  three  days.  Gateways  and  arches  are  trimmed  with  flutter- 
ing banners,  mottoes,  and  gay-colored  papers;  booths  are  erected  for  the 
bazaar,  to  which  as  many  as  3,000  people,  mostly  pagan,  come.  The 
school  children  from  the  villages  round  about  come  in  bands,  two  and  three 
hundred  strong,  give  a  program  in  the  open-air  and  receive  sweet-meats; 
games  and  stunts  are  arranged  for  the  young  men.  In  the  church  evangel- 
istic services  are  in  progress,  and  stereopticon  lectures  on  the  life  of  Christ 
are  held  in  the  evenings  in  the  open.  Our  Bible  women  are  busy  among 
the  crowds  of  Hindu  women  who  attend,  and  our  Christian  schools  make 
creditable  exhibits.  A  Quarterly  Meeting  is  held  the  three  days  preceding 
the  Mela,  as  a  preparation  for  it,  and  as  added  reason  for  the  attendance 
of  our  Christian  people  and  missionaries. 

The  Annual  Bible  Training  Institute  occurs  in  March  at  Midnapore, 
in  Deering  Hall.  To  this  come  the  Christian  Indian  workers  of  our  Field, 
men  and  women,  spending  a  week  in  study  and  in  acquiring  inspirational 
equipment  for  continued  service.  The  missionary  becomes  the  teacher, 
lecturer,  and  entertainer.  The  work  is  summed  up  in  examinations  at  the 
end.     Social   features  help  our  workers  from  different  stations  to  become 


6o  The  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society 

acquainted  with  each  other.  Men  and  women,  of  course,  meet  separately 
for  social  intercourse. 

Prize  givings,  following  English  customs,  are  held  in  all  our  schools. 
In  the  larger  schools  of  higher  grades,  they  become  elaborate  functions. 
These  usually  occur  in  April.  The  English  magistrate  and  native  Princes 
are  invited  and  attend.  Some  one  distinguished  guest  is  honored  as  the 
prize  giver.  The  pupils  are  in  gala  attire.  An  attractive  program  is  put 
on  with  drills  and  dramatic  presentations  in  addition  to  recitations  and 
songs.  The  handwork  of  the  pupils  is  pleasingly  exhibited  about  the  halls. 
Here  again  the  contents  of  our  American  "  boxes  "  are  requisitioned,  furnish- 
ing the  handkerchiefs,  sewing  boxes,  books  and  so  forth  that  constitute 
the  prizes.  These  occasions  serve  to  advertise  our  Christian  schools  and 
elicit  many  appreciative  words  from  guests.  They  also  give  the  pupils  a 
happy  time  and  some  recognition  of  their  efforts. 

For  the  working  church  the  chief  event  in  the  year's  round  is  the 
Yearly  Meeting.  It  alternates  between  the  two  largest  stations,  Balasore 
and  Midnapore,  and  occurs  in  October.  The  mission  homes  in  the  enter- 
taining station  get  out  their  supply  of  cots,  secure  additional  ones,  guests 
bring  their  cooks  and  waiters  along  and  jolly  house  parties  are  a  part  of 
the  experience.  The  Indian  folk  do  likewise  among  themselves.  It  is  the 
time,  during  the  several  days  of  sessions,  that  the  American  and  the  Indian 
church-men  confer  together,  and  have  mutual  and  equal  parts  on  the  pro- 
gram. There  is  a  woman's  hour  with  American  women  speakers.  Ex- 
periences are  exchanged,  advice  sought  and  given,  problems  are  talked 
over  and  practical  help  given  and  gained  for  the  work  of  the  ensuing  year. 
The  C.  E.  have  an  evening  and  come  in  good  numbers  with  banners  and 
group  songs  and  texts.  Often  Yearly  Meeting  takes  an  evangelistic  turn 
and  a  powerful  season  of  heart  searching  and  spiritual  uplift  is  felt. 

In  the  following  month  of  November  the  India  Committee  of  Refer- 
ence convenes.  This  is  composed  of  all  the  missionaries  on  the  Field  one 
year,  men  and  women,  and  they  are,  so  far  as  may  be,  expected  to  be 
present.  This  is  the  one  time  when  the  missionaries  meet  by  themselves. 
Brother  Sachi-danando  Rai  was  a  member  of  this  Committee  but  he  is  the 
only  Indian  who  has  been  so  honored.  At  this  time  questions  are  ventilated, 
new  policies  discussed  and  acted  upon;  communications  from  the  Home 
Board  receive  attention  and  the  actions  of  this  Committee  forwarded  to 
it;  mission  accounts  are  audited  and  new  missionaries  and  those  returning 


Foreign  Mission,  Bcngal-Orissa,  India  6i 

from  furlough  located.  It  is  a  time  of  "  strictly  business  "  for  two  and 
sometimes  three  whole  days,  according  to  the  amount  of  business  on  the 
docket.  The  rapidity  with  which  the  chairman  dispatches  business  would 
make  some  of  our  home  executives  dizzy!  Work  and  needs  at  the  home 
stations  are  just  pressing  for  attention  and  not  a  precious  moment  may  be 
wasted.  After  this  the  evangelistic  missionaries  go  out  with  tent  and  auto 
or  rail  and  house-boat  into  cold-season  itinerating. 

Advance  Steps.  A  certain  section  of  our  field  is  set  apart  as  home- 
mission  territory.  Work  here  is  supported  by  Indian  gifts.  Each  church 
contributes,  as  does  also  the  C.  E.  and  Woman's  Missionary  Societies. 
The  purpose  is  to  lead  the  Indian  Christian  to  gain  a  sense  of  responsibility 
toward  his  own  people,  in  order  to  make  Christianity  indigenous  and  self- 
supporting. 

As  Indian  workers  are  prepared  for  it.  more  and  more  authority  is 
placed  in  their  hands.  For  instance,  in  our  woman's  work,  the  superin- 
tendence of  Zenanas  in  Balasore,  a  task  always  carried  by  a  missionary, 
has,  for  the  past  two  years,  been  carried  very  acceptably  by  Chundri,  one 
of  our  fine  young  women,  a  Sinclair  Orphanage  girl  who  became  a  teacher. 

This  year  there  is  being  graduated  from  a  Calcutta  school  another  one 
of  our  Sinclair  Orphanage  girls,  Bachine.  Specialized  as  a  Christian  social 
worker,  she  will  go  into  the  Hindu  homes  teaching  hygiene  and  simple 
industries,  trying  to  gather  the  women  together  in  classes  either  in  their 
own  villages  or  on  the  mission  compound  where  the  missionary  can  meet 
them  and  nourish  their  poor  starved  lives,  physically,  mentally,  and 
spiritually. 

I  thank  Him  for  home  and  its  comfort.s, 

In  this  far-away  heathen  land; 
For   friends   that   are   loving   and   faithful, 
For   work   that  enlists   heart  and   hand. 
Harriet   Preston    Phh-lips 


CHAPTER    VI 

The  Missionary  Helper 

As  a  man  readeth  so  is  he. 

Frances  E.  Willard. 

ROM  the  very  beginning  of  the  foreign  mission  work  of  the  Free 
Baptists  in  1835,  and  the  home  work  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley  in 
1865,  the  Morning  Star  gladly  opened  its  pages  to  further  these 
undertakings.  But  its  columns  were  so  crowded  it  could  not  afford  the 
space  the  growing  work  required,  and  the  need  of  a  distinctly  missionary 
periodical  was  felt.  In  1876,  by  request  of  Dr.  James  L.  Phillips,  then 
in  this  country,  a  committee  of  five,  with  an  equal  number  representing  the 
foreign,  the  home  mission,  and  the  education  societies,  considered  this 
matter  but  without  any  practical  results.  The  women  in  the  recently  or- 
ganized Woman's  Missionary  Society  (1873)  were  deeply  feeling  the  need 
of  some  medium  through  which  access  could  be  gained  to  the  many  women 
in  our  churches  who  did  not  take  the  Star;  an  organ  of  their  own. 
to  aid  in  perfecting  and  extending  their  organization  and  in  presenting 
their  methods  of  work,  as  well  as  in  spreading  abroad  missionary  informa- 
tion. Miss  Julia  P.  Phillips,  then  on  furlough,  was  working  in  the  East, 
organizing  auxiliaries  and  children's  bands.  While  visiting  "  Mother  " 
Hills  in  Dover,  N.  H.,  she  zealously  urged  the  necessity  of  "  some  plan 
by  which  heart  might  touch  heart,"  some  medium  through  which  ample 
and  friendly  consideration  might  be  given  all  matters  coming  within  the 
province  of  the  Woman's  Missionary  Society.  A  meeting  was  called  at 
the  home  of  Mrs.  I.  D.  Stewart,  at  which  were  present  Mrs.  M.  M.  H. 
Hills,  Mrs.  E.  B.  Chamberlain,  Mrs.  Martha  L.  Smith,  Mrs.  F.  S.  Mosher, 
Mrs.  M.  S.  Waterman,  all  of  Dover;  Mrs.  J.  A.  Lowell  of  Danville,  Mrs. 
Marilla  M.  Brewster  of  Providence,  and  Miss  Julia  P.  Phillips,  now 
Mrs.  Burkholder.  From  the  latter  we  quote :  "  After  prayer  we  had 
a    long    discussion    as    to    the    need    of    some    means    of    communication 

62 


The  Missionary  Helper  63 

between  the  different  sections  of  our  denomination,  something  to 
bind  us  together  into  a  strong  working  body.  Then  the  financial  side 
was  thoroughly  considered.  Where  were  the  funds  coming  from  for 
publishing  a  magazine?  Our  Woman's  Society  was  in  its  infancy.  Two 
cents  a  week  was  all  that  the  auxiliaries  were  asking  from  the  members. 
The  Treasury  must  not  be  drawn  on  for  its  publication.  The  de- 
mand was  so  urgent  that  we  felt  we  should  make  the  venture  at  any 
cost.  At  last  Miss  DeMeritte  with  her  clear,  business  brain  suggested 
the  following  plan:  "If  we  could  secure  fifty  persons  who  would 
pledge  $2.00  a  year  for  five  years,  if  needed,  to  carry  on  the  work; 
and  if  we  could  secure  six  hundred  subscribers,  we  were  safe  to  make  a  be- 
ginning." This  plan  was  adopted  and  a  committee  of  five,  of  which  Miss 
Phillips  was  chairman,  was  appointed  to  work  out  its  details.  She  continues : 
"  But  who,  pray,  would  undertake  the  work  of  editing  and  publishing  our 
little  magazine  with  no  financial  backing?  Again  and  again  it  was  said  we 
must  not  draw  upon  the  Treasury  for  a  single  dollar!  At  last  our  dear  and 
capable  Mrs.  Brewster  had  the  faith  and  courage  to  offer  her  services  for 
the  task.  A  few  days  later  the  committee  met  at  her  home  in  Providence, 
each  with  a  Year  Book  in  hand,  and  noted  the  names  of  pastors  and  others 
to  whom  we  were  to  write  for  help.  Each  of  us  had  about  eighty  per- 
sons to  whom  we  were  to  write." 

From  Providence,  Miss  Phillips  went  to  Maine.  "  Wherever  I  went, 
whoever  I  met,  I  talked  pledges  and  subscribers  to  our  hoped-for  magazine. 
One  cold  November  night  after  a  stage-coach  ride  of  ten  miles,  I  reached 
Mrs.  Wade's  home  in  Dover.  Never  shall  I  forget  that  beautiful  home, 
so  warm,  so  welcoming!  All  my  spare  time  was  spent  in  writing  my  share 
of  the  letters.  From  Dover  I  was  to  visit  a  number  of  churches,  and  then 
to  attend  a  Quarterly  Meeting.  In  the  meantime  answers  to  our  letters 
were  being  received  and  we  were  learning  the  result  of  our  undertaking. 
Mrs.  Wade  was  deeply  interested  in  this  venture.  She  attended  the 
Quarterly  Meeting  and  brought  the  news  that  the  fifty  pledges  and  the 
six  hundred  subscribers  had  been  secured!  0,  how  we  rejoiced!  We 
almost  wept  for  joy  as  we  thanked  God  for  answering  our  prayers.  He 
surely  had  honored  our  "  Faith  and  Works."  A  publication  committee 
was  appointed  and  from  several  names  proposed  that  of  "  The  Missionary 
Helper,"  suggested  by  Mr.  Brewster,  was  selected.  To  Mrs.  Burkholder 
(Miss  Julia  Phillips)   and  to  Mrs.   Brewster  w'e  are  equally  indebted   for 


64  The  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society 

the  establishing  of  our  Helper.  A  prominent  worker  says:  "Great 
emphasis  should  be  laid  on  one  fact  —  that  Mrs.  Brewster  was  the  moving 
cause  of  our  having  a  "Missionary  Helper."  Another  writes:  "She  was 
hope,  faith,  and  energy."  Miss  Phillips,  travelling  among  the  churches, 
pushed  with  enthusiasm  and  unremitting  toil  the  canvass  for  pledges  and 
subscribers.  These  two  indefatigable  workers,  backed  by  a  score  of  other 
consecrated  women,  brought  about  this  helper  long  desired  in  their  work,  — 
a  distinctly  Free  Baptist  Missionary  magazine. 

The  first  Missionary  Helper  appeared  January,  1878.  "Words  can- 
not express  our  feelings  as  we  watched  for  it.  Every  word  from  cover  to 
cover  was  read  with  overflowing  hearts."  It  was  a  modest  little  pamphlet, 
seven  and  one-quarter  by  four  and  three-quarter  inches,  comprising  only 
twenty-six  pages,  two  of  which  were  devoted  to  the  treasurer's  report. 
It  was  issued  bi-monthly  at  the  astonishing  low  price  of  thirty-five  cents 
a  year,  until  1883,  when  it  became  a  monthly  at  fifty  cents.  In  1887  it  had 
thirty-six  pages,  and  from  1896,  when  the  size  was  increased  to  eight  and 
one-half  by  six  inches,  it  numbered  thirty-two  pages;  but  the  price  was 
never  more  than  fifty  cents.  It  was  issued  from  Providence  from  1878 
through  1887;  from  Boston,  1888  to  November,  1905;  from  Saco,  Maine. 
1005  through  December,  1919. 

At  first  Mrs.  Brewster  was  both  editor  and  publisher  of  the  magazine. 
Much  did  she  need  "  hope,  faith  and  energy,"  as  her  pathetic  words  in  her 
first  editorial  indicate:  "I  stagger  beneath  the  load  I  have  here  taken  up. 
but  He  who  gives  the  burden  will  also  give  the  strength."  One  who  knew 
Mrs.  Brewster  intimately  wrote  of  her:  "There  are  friends  who  touch 
us  from  above,  whose  very  breath  is  an  inspiration,  whose  ambitions  are 
limitless.  .  .  .  The  educated  skill  with  which  her  work  was  done  was 
a  vital  part  of  herself.  Sometimes  she  planned  from  a  higher  plane  than 
was  quite  practical,  but  is  not  that  very  foreseeing  of  hers  a  present  in- 
spiration? "  Her  plea  that  the  Helper  "  be  received  into  your  hearts  and 
used  as  though  all  your  own,"  met  a  generous  response.  The  November 
issue  of  the  first  year  announced  two  thousand  three  hundred  and  seventy- 
seven  subscribers.  The  women  who  had  pledged  themselves  financially 
to  its  support,  for  five  years,  were  never  called  upon. 

For  eight  years  Mrs.  Brewster's  facile  pen  and  devoted  care  blessed 
our  magazine.  With  a  view  to  going  abroad  she  resigned  her  position  in 
1886,  and  Mrs.  Emeline  Burlingame  of  Providence  was  elected  her  editorial 


The  Missionary  Helper  65 

successor.  The  steadily  increasing  work  had  become  too  laborious  for 
one  person,  and  ^Irs.  Ella  H.  Andrews  of  Providence,  R.  I.,  was  elected 
Publishing  Agent.  She  gave  the  remainder  of  her  life,  twenty-four  years, 
serving  the  Society  in  this  capacity.  It  is  significant  to  note  that  Mrs. 
Burlingame  "  was  the  woman  who  first  interested  her,  as  a  young  lady, 
in  the  work  of  the  F.  B.  W.  M.  S."  The  same  systematic  organization 
of  forces  that  has  been  one  of  the  glories  of  the  Free  Baptist  denomination 
was  pushed  by  Mrs.  Andrews.  Each  local  auxiliary  was  supposed  to  have, 
and  as  a  rule  did  have,  a  wide-awake,  earnest  woman  as  "  Local  Agent  " 
to  look  after  the  Helper's  interests  in  the  community,  and  keep  in  touch 
with  the  Quarterly  Meeting  Helper  Agent.  The  latter  had  the  general 
oversight  of  all  Local  Agents  in  her  district,  and  in  turn  reported  fre- 
quently to  the  State  Agent,  who  was  responsible  for  her  State  to  the 
Publishing  Agent.  All  these  officers  by  public  presentation  of  the  magazine, 
innumerable  letters  and  untiring  personal  solicitation,  rolled  up  a  fine  sub- 
scription list.  iNIrs.  Andrews'  term  of  service  may  well  be  called  the 
"  Golden  Age  "  of  the  Helper.  During  it  occurred  a  crisis  in  the  life  of 
the  magazine,  —  a  brave  fight  put  up  by  the  editor  and  the  publisher  for 
the  very  existence  of  this  child  of  the  F.  B.  W.  M.  S. 

When  in  1Q05  the  Boston  office  of  the  Morning  Star  was  discontinued, 
the  printing  of  the  Helper  was  given  to  Mr.  W.  L.  Streeter,  Saco,  Me. 
This  had  the  essential  advantage  of  being  near  Mrs.  Whitcomb,  whose 
editorial  "  Sanctum  "  was  in  Ocean  Park.  The  Helper  had  been  mailed 
from  both  Providence  and  Boston  as  second-class  matter  without  any 
questions;  but  a  similar  application  to  the  Saco  post-office  was  denied. 
The  Postal  Laws  require  that  "  while  a  publication  may  have  more  than 
one  office  for  the  transaction  of  business,  it  may  be  entered  to  the  second- 
class  of  mail  matter  at  only  one,  and  that,  the  known  office  of  publica- 
tion." Mrs.  Andrews'  designation,  "  Publishing  Agent,"  led  to  the  mis- 
apprehension that  the  Helper  was  really  published  in  Providence,  whereas, 
subscriptions  only  were  received  there.  As  soon  as  the  first  application  at 
the  Saco  office  for  second-class  rates  was  denied,  full  explanations  were 
made  and  changes  in  the  wording  of  the  covers  of  the  Helper  in  an  en- 
deavor to  meet  the  requirements  of  the  P.  0.  Department.  All  was  in 
vain.  Thereupon  Mrs.  Whitcomb  began  a  correspondence  with  the  Third 
Assistant  Postmaster  General  which  extended  through  nearly  a  year.  In 
the   meantime,    that   subscribers   might    receive    their   Helper   in   time,    the 


66  The  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society 

treasurer  of  the  F.  B.  W.  M.  S.  deposited  thirty  dollars  a  month  (once 
sixty  dollars)  to  send  the  magazine  as  first-class  mail.  Mrs.  Whitcomb,  in 
most  tactful,  business-like,  and  appealing  letters,  interested  Congressman 
Charles  H.  Littlefield,  whose  father  was  a  Free  Baptist  minister,  and  he 
in  Washington  arose  to  "  help  those  women."  After  the  fourth  applica- 
tion, filled  out  most  painstakingly  by  the  Publishing  Agent,  "  Uncle  Sam  " 
was  convinced  of  the  integrity  of  the  F.  B.  W.  M.  S.  and  the  Helper  was 
admitted  as  second-class  mail  at  the  Saco  P.  O. ;  and  the  Postmaster  Gen- 
eral ordered  a  refund  of  the  first-class  postage,  then  amounting  to  some 
$200.00.  But  for  the  persistent  effort  of  Mrs.  Whitcomb  and  Mrs.  An- 
drews and  the  chivalrous  intervention  of  Mr.  Littlefield,  our  Helper  would 
certainly  have  been  obliged  to  cease  publication. 

Mr.  Streeter  became  the  authorized  Publisher  of  the  Helper,  and  Mrs. 
Andrews  and  her  successors  were  thereafter  designated  General  Subscrip- 
tion Agents.  When  in  1910,  Mrs.  Andrews  was  suddenly  removed  from 
earth's  activities,  nobly  did  her  husband  and  her  daughter,  Miss  Lydia,  step 
into  the  gap  in  our  ranks,  and  for  three  years  cared  for  the  Helper's  sub- 
scriptions. At  the  Annual  Meeting,  at  Ocean  Park,  August,  1913,  Miss 
Alfreida  M.  Mosher  was  elected  General  Subscription  Agent.  The  next 
few  years  were  precarious  ones  for  missionary  work  and  magazines;  but 
ours  survived  to  render  important  service  during  the  days  of  transition  to 
a  new  order.  Miss  Mosher's  "  Publisher's  Notes,"  always  stimulating,  gave 
Helper  readers  an  intelligent  outlook  on  "  Christian  Americanization."  To 
her,  came  also,  in  1919,  the  task  of  closing  up  the  business  affairs  of  the 
Helper,  and  well  did  she  discharge  this  duty. 

When  in  1894  Mrs.  Burlingame  resigned  the  editorship  of  the  Helper, 
it  held  an  enviable  place  among  the  periodicals  of  its  own  class.  The 
presentation  of  specific  knowledge  of  our  own  fields,  tactful  setting  forth 
of  methods  of  work,  and  persuasive  appeals  for  new  ventures,  had  made 
the  magazine  a  most  effective  ally  in  the  work  of  the  society,  "  Post  mortem 
thanks  may  be  heard  in  heaven,  but  I  suspect  that  higher  things  will  make 
them  seem  less  needed  there  than  now  when  we  are  plodding  along  the  level 
stretches  of  life,"  wrote  Mrs.  Burlingame.  This  conviction  expressed  in 
generous  appreciation  of  the  talents  and  services  of  others  had  won  last- 
ing gratitude  from  many  a  fellow  laborer  and  endeared  both  the  magazine 
and  its  editor  to  an  increasing  host  of  friends.  Of  the  Helper,  Mrs.  Burlin- 
game wrote,  "  It  had  become  very  dear  to  me  during  the  eight  years  that 


The  Missionary  Helper 


67 


I  had  been  its  editor,  and  it  was  with  genuine  satisfaction  and  trust  for 
its  future  that  I  hailed  as  my  successor  the  daughter  of  my  friend  and 
co-worker,  Mrs.  Mary  R.  Wade,  Mrs.  Nellie  Wade  Whitcomb." 

In  perfecting  the  Missionary  Helper,  Mrs.  Whitcomb  spent  the  re- 
mainder of  her  life,  —  twenty-four  years  of  almost  prodigal  energy  and 
lavish  devotion.  With  the  magazine  already  enlarged  and  printed  in  easily 
read  type,  it  remained  for 
her  to  beautify  its  appear- 
ance and  increase  the  charm 
of  its  message.  Before  she 
became  the  editor,  pictures 
were  practically  unknown. 
In  her  first  issue,  January. 
1895,  appeared  a  cut  of  the 
retiring  editor,  Mrs.  Bur- 
lingame;  then  followed,  one 
each  month,  the  general  of- 
ficers. Next  year  came  the 
faces  of  our  missionaries,  — 
Miss  Beebee  Phillips,  and 
"  Dr.  Mary "  among  the 
first,  —  until  we  "  knew  by 
sight  "  our  workers  at  home 
and  abroad.  The  map  of 
our  India  field,  now  so  fa- 
miliar, appeared  first  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1896,  and  two  years 
later  the  first  Storer  cut. 
"  The  Helper's  attractive- 
ness and  usefulness  is  in- 
creased by  the  many  pic- 
tures taken  on  the  spot,"  was  the  well  earned  commendation  of  this 
effort,  in  which  our  missionaries  generously  co-operated.  Mr.  Albert 
Armstrong,  our  Ocean  Park  photographer,  gladly  aided  and  the  Shayler 
Engraving  Co.,  of  Portland,  gave  to  the  magazine  some  of  its  best  work. 
The  "  Cut  Fund  "  made  up  of  gifts  by  individuals  and  societies  was  estab- 
hshed  by  Mrs.  Whitcomb,  who,  to  increase  its  amount,  sold  the  popular 


Mrs.  Nellie  Wade  Whitcomb 
Helper    Editor    1895-1918 


68  The  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society 

"  India  Post  Cards,"  and  ferns  and  mosses  mounted  by  our  busy  mission- 
aries. With  her,  also,  we  associate  the  "  Sustaining  Fund,"  the  plan  of 
which  was  set  forth  by  Mrs.  Andrews  on  the  covers  of  the  October  Helper 
1906:  1st.  Individuals  and  Societies  became  responsible  for  five  new  sub- 
scribers for  three  years;  2nd.  Individuals  and  auxiliaries  took  shares  for  the 
support  of  the  Helper  at  three  dollars  each,  the  pledge  holding  good  until 
the  one  making  it  asked  to  be  released.  These  plans  received  good  sup- 
port and  the  money  received  was  a  decided  help  to  the  magazine.  Can  we 
ever  forget  the  earnest,  enthusiastic  presentation  of  these  claims  by  our 
Editor  at  Annual  Meeting,  and  her  radiant,  smiling  "  Thank  you "  as 
pledges  were  gladly  volunteered? 

Our  Colors  were  dear  to  the  editor's  heart, 

''  Fidelity,  solidity  — 
The  heart  of  new   and   old; 
But  the  later  band  expresses 
Its  faith  in  blue  and  gold." 

The  covers  of  the  "  Souvenir  Number,"  October  1897,  commemorating 
the  fiftieth  anniversary,  or  jubilee  of  the  "  Freewill  Baptist  Female  Mission- 
ary Society "  were  printed  in  gold  and  white.  Other  issues  were  made 
attractive  by  the  beautiful  blue  lettering,  and  Storer  numbers  shone  forth 
in  the  college  colors,  orange  and  black.  Thus  did  our  magazine  attract 
the  eye  as  well  as  the  mind  and  the  heart. 

What  shall  we  say  of  its  contents?  While  devoted  especially  to  work 
in  the  Bengal-Orissa  field,  and  the  far-reaching  educational  work  for  colored 
students  at  Storer  College,  the  Helper  gave  also  glimpses  of  the  "  magnitude 
of  God's  program  of  world-wide  work."  Our  society  adopted  the  plans  of 
the  United  Study  of  Missions  and,  beginning  in  1901,  with  Via  Christi, 
the  first  study  book,  the  Helper  gave  place  upon  its  monthly  programs 
to  these  world-wide  studies.  To  do  this  without  neglecting  our  own  fields, 
required  careful  condensation  of  the  wealth  of  material.  Mrs.  Whitcomb 
planned  a  year's  Helpers  in  advance.  September  gave  us  "An  Acquain- 
tance Party,"  with  a  pre-view  of  the  next  study  book,  and  "  get-together  " 
features;  November,  "The  Story  of  the  Year,"  annual  reports;  February, 
"  Prayer  and  Praise  ";  March,  the  anticipated  "  Call  "  for  our  Annual  Thank 
Offering  service;  April,  material  for  the  same.  Special  numbers  were  de- 
voted to  Storer  College.    The  Children,  Our  Young  W^omen,  and  along  with 


The  Missionary  Helper  69 

this  denominational  work,  topics  to  cover  the  study  book  during  the  year. 
There  were  bright  bits  of  information  about  "our  folk  and  other  folk"; 
personal  letters  from  home  and  foreign  workers ;  "  Notes  by  both  treasurer 
and  subscription  agent,  which  were  far  more  than  mere  statistics;  lists  of 
books,  leaflets,  costumes  and  curios  furnished  by  the  "  Bureau  of  Missionary 
Intelligence";  a  page  devoted  to  "Our  Quiet  Hour,"  well  worth  the  price 
of  the  magazine.  This  also  might  be  said  of  the  uplifting  ''  In  Memoriam," 
poetry,  and  other  timely  and  invigorating  quotations  "  chinked  in  "  through- 


The  Hermitage,  Helper  Sanctum,  Ocean  Park,  Me. 

out  the  pages  of  the  magazine.  For  many  years  the  Helper  Branch  of  the 
International  Sunshine  Society  enjoyed  a  delightful  page  edited  by  Mrs. 
Rivington  D.  Lord.  "  Missionary  Reminiscences  "  was  first  published  as  a 
serial  in  the  Helper.  Among  other  articles  of  permanent  value  were  the 
series  on  "  Some  of  Our  Well  Known  Workers,"  and  a  series  on  the  Judson 
Centennial,  together  with  picturesque  sketches  of  travel  and  life  in  India 
by  our  corresponding  secretary.  Miss  Lena  S.  Fenner.  During  the  last  few 
years  timely  articles  on  Christian  Americanization  and  other  present  day 
religious  and  educational  problems  have  been  given  space.  "  From  cover 
to  cover  the  Helper  teems  with  life  and  actuahty,"  wrote  one  enthusiastic 
reader. 


70  The  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society 

To  characterize  Mrs.  Whitcomb's  editorial  ability  a  few  tributes  only 
must  suffice:  "To  her  services  as  Editor  of  the  Missionary  Helper, 
Mrs.  Whitcomb  brought  a  refinement  of  taste,  a  skilled  and  almost  poetic 
diction,  a  broad,  sympathetic  appreciation  of  people  and  work  of  many 
kinds,  and  undistracted  devotion^  "  With  the  flexible  style  of  an  ever 
ready  writer  she  combined  knowledge  of  the  Free  Baptist  denomination." 
■'  The  perfection  of  her  work  came  not  alone  from  genius,  it  came,  too, 
from  study."  "  To  the  Missionary  Helper  she  has  given  an  exquisite  touch, 
so  unique  that  it  has  been  a  joy,  its  work  a  success,  and  she  herself  beloved 
by  hundreds  and  thousands  of  people  the  world  around." 

The  Missionary  Helper  served  not  alone  the  F.  B.  W.  M.  S.  ''  Its 
gracious  influences  have  been  of  greater  value  in  the  wide  circle  of  the 
Kingdom  of  Christ  than  most  of  us  realize,"  wrote  Dr.  Alfred  Williams 
Anthony.  "  In  an  altogether  unostentatious  way  Mrs.  Whitcomb  rendered  a 
large  contribution  to  the  denomination.  So  soon  as  a  course  of  action 
seemed  to  her  wise,  even  though  it  involved  departure  from  accustomed 
ways,  and  no  little  sacrifice  of  personal  choice,  she  not  only  committed  her- 
self to  it,  but  wisely  and  tactfully  set  it  forth  with  voice  and  pen  to  persuade 
others.  In  the  editorial  office  she  has  not  only  disseminated  information 
clearly  and  convincingly,  but  she  has  also  served  as  a  leader,  loyal  to  the 
denominational  policies,  tactfully  explaining  and  consistently  supporting 
them."  Concerning  the  transitions  in  the  W.  M.  S.  she  wrote  in  1897: 
'■  What  is  the  duty  of  the  Helper  to  this  time?  1st.  Our  magazine  must  be 
the  voice  of  our  officers  as  they  explain  the  new  order.  2nd.  The  voice  of 
our  missionaries  in  Bengal-Orissa  as  they  tell  us  of  their  blessed  work  and 
its  needs.  3rd.  A  medium  of  communication  between  our  new  friends  of  the 
W.  A.  B.  F.  M.  S.,  the  W.  A.  B.  H.  M.  S.  and  the  Free  Baptist  auxiliaries. 
4th.  A  means  by  which  leaders  of  the  Baptist  Women's  societies  may  be- 
come better  acquainted  with  their  new  fields.  There  is,  at  present,  no  other 
way  in  which  any  of  these  results  can  be  obtained  to  any  extent."  When 
the  earlier  talk  of  union  made  some  of  our  auxiliaries  restless,  then  our 
officers  sent  out  the  call  for  us  to  "  keep  together  and  go  together;  to  be 
united  among  ourselves  until  we  were  united  with  others."  Note  her 
sacrificial  courage  as  she  continues :  "  Those  who  best  love  the  Missionary 
Helper,  who  have  been  most  closely  associated  with  it,  and  who  believe 
it  has  supplied  a  positive  need  for  many  years  will  be  ready  to  yield  grace- 
fully to  the  inevitable  when  they  are  convinced  that  its  mission  has  been 


The  Missionary  Helper 


71 


accomplished."  Thus  was  much  conserved  that  might  easily  have  been  lost, 
not  only  in  our  missionary  work  but  also  in  our  churches,  by  her  who  kept 
"  steady,  ready  and  brave." 

Here  our  pen  falters.     Increasing  physical  weakness  made  it  impera- 
tive for  Mrs.  Whitcomb  to  be  relieved  of  the  details  of  editorial  work. 


Miss  Alfreida  M.  Mosher 
Helper  Publishing  Agent,  1913-1919 


"  We  could  hardly  wait,"  she  joyfully  writes,  "  to  make  an  announcement 
that  makes  us  very  happy:  INIiss  Doris  Elizabeth  Folsom,  Sanford,  Me., 
has  consented  to  become  assistant  editor  of  the  INIissionary  Helper.  .  .  . 
She  is  the  grand-niece  of  Mrs.  Mary  R.  Wade."  She  continues,  "  The 
Editor  again  says  '  Thank  you  '  to  everybody  for  the  help  and  cheer  so 


72  The  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society 

freely  given  throughout  the  years.  .  .  .  Whatever  changes  come  to  us  in 
hfe  and  work,  as  individuals  or  as  a  society,  may  we  face  the  future  with 
serene  faith  and  joyful  appreciation  of  the  service  of  others  expressed  in 
Whittier's  lines: 

"  '  Hail  to  the  coming  singers ! 

Hail  to  the  brave  light  bringers! 

Forward  I  reach  and  share 

All  that  they  sing  and  dare.' " 

Thus  could  she  write  October  13,  1918;  Nov.  13,  her  radiant  spirit  facing 
"  toward  the  Brightness,  out  through  lanes  of  whiteness  "  went  "  all  the  way 
to  God." 

The  first  task  that  confronted  our  new  assistant  editor  was  the  difficult 
one  of  editing  a  "  Memorial  "  to  Mrs.  Whitcomb.  With  noticeable  skill 
she  joined  together  by  notes  of  her  own  the  exquisite  tributes  penned  by 
life-long  friends  and  the  co-workers  of  a  quarter  century  adding  to  those 
choice  verse  of  her  own.  Again  the  Helper  appeared  in  our  Editor's  favorite 
colors,  gold  and  white,  fitting  symbols  of  the  purity  and  brightness  of  her 
life.  The  beauty  and  harmony  of  the  "  Memorial  "  proved  our  young  editor 
"a  workman  that  needeth  not  to  be  ashamed."  The  Helper  for  1919  was 
already  mapped  out,  with  much  material  on  hand;  to  this  Miss  Folsom 
added  timely  editorials  and  by  selections  from  Mrs.  Whitcomb's  poems^ 
tried  to  make  us  miss  less  the  "  touch  of  a  vanished  hand."  Our  Helper 
had  been  cordially  welcomed  by  the  leaders  in  the  W.  A.  B.  M.  Societies 
and  some  of  its  highest  praise  came  from  them.  For  years  the  F.  B.  W.  M.  S. 
had  made  generous  annual  appropriations  for  the  support  of  the  Helper, 
believing  "  the  money  wisely  invested  and  bringing  larger  returns  than  it 
would  be  placed  anywhere  else." 

But  in  the  gradual  union  of  Free  Baptists  and  Baptists  there  ceased 
to  be  public  opportunity  to  obtain  subscriptions  to  the  Helper  as  there  were 
no  longer  distinctive  Free  Baptist  meetings.  The  officers  of  the 
F.  B.  W.  M.  S.  no  longer  felt  justified  in  putting  funds  into  the  continu- 
ance of  the  Helper,  though  there  was  money  to  do  so.  Sorrowfully,  be- 
cause of  what  it  had  been  in  our  individual  lives  and  in  the  life  of  our 
Society,  its  discontinuance  was  recommended  with  the  December  number, 
1919. 

"  Men  own  that  life  to  be  highest  and  best  which  is  a  conscious, 
voluntary  self-sacrifice."    In  a  beautiful  "  L'Envoie,"  Mrs.  Lucy  P.  Durgin, 


^ 


The  Missionary  Helper  73 

our  President,  said  referring  to  the  Helper,  "  I  had  almost  said  '  whom,'  so 
vital  is  it,  so  human,  that  it  seems  like  a  benignant  personality."  Julia 
Phillips  Burkholder  in  her  "  Good-by  Letter "  to  her  "  child "  wrote : 
"For  40  years  you  have  held  the  family  together";  and  Mrs  M.  A.  W. 
Bachelder  voiced  the  hearts  of  that  living  family  in  these  words: 

"  Our  Missionary  Helper  will  remain  in  beautiful  memories  of  asso- 
ciations with  strong,  spiritual  women;  a  vision  of  loving,  successful  mis- 
sionary service;  a  hope  of  ever-widening  opportunity;  a  faith  in  the  ulti- 
mate triumph  of  the  cause  for  which  it  has  stood.    It  Will  Not  Pass." 

"  After  the  Bible,  nothing  helps  to  broaden  the  intelligence  and  deepen 
piety  more  than  a  thorough   knowledge  of  Missions." 


CHAPTER   VII 

Finance 

"  What  are  we  giving  today  ? 
Some  have  given  father,  mother, 
Loving    friends   and    pleasant    ease, — 
All   the  dear  home  ties  have  severed. 
How  compare  our  gifts  with  these?" 

"^^  N  June  1873,  at  the  New  Hampshire  Freewill  Baptist  Yearly  Meeting, 
held  in  Sandwich,  the  writer  was  elected  the  treasurer  of  the  newly  or- 
ganized Free  Baptist  Woman's  Missionary  Society.  At  that  time  she 
was  known  to  the  people  of  her  denomination  only  as  a  book-keeper  in  the 
Morning  Star  Publishing  House,  Dover,  N.  H.  It  was  the  confidence  of  a 
friend  that  gave  her  the  position.  The  treasurer's  work  was  very  light 
for  a  long  time.  At  the  first  annual  meeting  of  the  Society  the  following 
October,  there  was  in  the  treasury  only  $535.40;  one  hundred  dollars  of 
this  sum  having  been  contributed  by  Mrs.  M.  M.  H.  Hills,  who  made  the 
first  five  life  members  of  the  Society.  Year  by  year  the  annual  contri- 
butions increased  until  they  reached  $10,000  a  year  for  the  regular  work. 
Now  we  remind  ourselves  that  the  denomination  never  exceeded  a  member- 
ship of  85,000.  This  very  fact  of  the  limitation  of  members,  however,  had 
its  compensations,  in  that  it  trained  its  workers  in  a  life  of  large  sacrifice 
for  others ;  bound  them  in  close  personal  ties ;  made  it  easy  to  assign  special 
work  to  individuals,  and  gave  free  play  for  the  co-operation  of  men  and 
women  in  a  common  service. 

The  first  appropriation  of  the  Free  Baptist  Woman's  Missionary 
Society  through  its  Board  was  for  the  outfit  and  passage  of  Miss  Susan 
R.  Libby  of  Dover,  N.  H.,  as  a  Missionary  to  Balasore,  India,  followed 
the  next  year  by  one  for  a  worker  to  Storer  College,  Harper's  Ferry, 
West  Virginia.  When  nine  missionaries  had  been  sent  to  India,  property 
was  purchased  in  Balasore  for  an  orphanage,  and  named  Sinclair  Orphanage 
for  the  givers;  a  home  for  missionaries  in  Midnapore  with  a  dispensary  was 

74 


Finance 


75 


also  purchased,  and  still  later,  land  in  Balasore  was  secured  on  which  was 
erected  Kindergarten  Hall.  As  the  India  work  grew  individuals  assumed 
the  support  of  children  in  Sinclair  Orphanage,  and  Bible  women  and  Zenana 
teachers  in  the  different  Mission  stations.  Women  at  home  were  very  happy 
in  this  personal  work  as  it  made  the  people  of  India  seem  very  real  to  them. 
The  policy  of  our  Society  from  early  days  has  been  to  apportion  the 
annual  budget  among  the  State  Societies  and  recommend  that  they  in  turn 
apportion  to  the  local 
church  auxiliaries.  Soon 
the  Board  saw  the  neces- 
sity of  establishing  a  finan- 
cial policy  to  govern  its 
basis  of  appropriations  in 
preparing  the  yearly  bud- 
get. This  budget  included. 
home  and  foreign  work  and 
administration  expenses. 
After  much  consideration 
it  was  decided  that  the  ap- 
propriations should  not  ex- 
ceed the  probable  annual 
income,  always  allowing 
for  a  normal  increase.  The 
result  has  been  that  only 
twice  in  the  hsitory  of  the 
Society,  covering  a  period 
of  forty-seven  years,  has 
there  been  a  deficit,  and 
only  once  has  the  amount 
been     over     fifty     dollars. 

On  the  latter  occasion  a  woman  not  noted  for  generous  impulses,  came  to 
the  treasurer  and  asked  how  she  could  help  the  Society.  Told  of  the  situa- 
tion and  that  she  could  help  most  by  giving  her  check  for  $500.00,  the 
amount  of  the  deficit,  the  treasurer  was  gratified  a  few  days  later  by 
receiving  the  same  in  full.  At  other  times  when  a  shortage  seemed  im- 
minent, auxiliaries  and  friends  were  appealed  to  through  "  The  Missionary 
Helper  "  for  prayers  and  gifts  and  the  need  would  be  immediately  met. 


Miss   Laura   A.    DeMeritte 
Treasurer    1873-1913 


76  The  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Society  and  Board  held  in  Brooklyn,  N.  Y., 
in  October  1890,  the  appeals  from  the  India  field  were  so  urgent  and  piteous 
that  the  duty  of  increasing  appropriations  beyond  the  regular  sources  of 
supply  became  imperative.  When  the  situation  was  presented  to  the  Board, 
the  members  knelt  in  prayer  for  guidance.  It  was  a  beautiful  service, 
permeated  with  spirit  of  dependence  in  our  Heavenly  Father.  As  a  result 
it  was  voted  that  a  Thank  Offering  Service  be  held  in  each  church.  An 
appeal  for  this  First  Thank  Offering  was  made  through  "  The  Missionary 
Helper."  The  Auxiliaries  and  churches  were  asked  to  make  this  a  public 
service  if  possible.  The  success  of  the  plan  proved  so  great  that  each  year 
since  for  thirty  years,  scores  of  Thank  Offering  Sei-vices  have  been  observed. 
These  are  often  held  of  a  Sunday  evening,  and  made  attractive  by  the  par- 
ticipation of  children,  and  by  special  decorations  of  flowers  and  banners. 
Not  only,  has  this  offering  saved  the  Society  from  a  possible  deficit,  by  add- 
ing thousands  of  dollars  to  its  treasury,  but  it  has  proved  a  constant  re- 
minder that  our  dependence  is  not  on  dollars  per  se  but  in  our  Heavenly 
Father  in  whose  hand  are  the  gold  and  the  silver  and  every  good 
thing. 

The  next  financial  problem  our  Society  faced  was  its  relations  with  the 
General  Conference  of  Free  Baptists.  When  the  Free  Baptist  Woman's 
Missionary  Society  became  incorporated  under  the  laws  of  the  State  of 
Maine  it  was  as  an  independent  organization,  with  the  relation  of  associate 
worker  with  the  other  benevolent  organizations  of  the  denomination.  Later 
the  other  organizations,  Home  and  Foreign  Missions  and  Publication  Society, 
were  merged  into  the  General  Conference  of  Free  Baptists.  The  indepen- 
dence of  the  Woman's  Society  was  tenaciously  held  by  many  women  and 
men  too,  —  and  opposed  as  vigorously  by  others,  all  conscientious  in  their 
differences.  Between  the  extremes  was  a  small  number  who  wanted  an 
adjustment  that  they  knew  could  only  be  effected  by  mutual  concessions. 
After  some  years  this  was  secured,  and  the  plan  of  work  as  outlined  by 
the  W.  M.  S.  was  adopted  by  the  General  Conference  held  in  Hillsdale, 
Michigan,  in  September  1904.  In  July  1905,  a  Joint  Committee  consisting 
of  R.  D.  Lord,  O.  D.  Patch,  H.  M.  Ford,  Lucy  P.  Durgin  and  Frances  S.  1 
Mosher  proposed  the  plan  which  the  Woman's  Missionary  Society  accepted  , 
under  some  conditions  at  its  Annual  Meeting  held  at  Somersworth,  N.  H.^ 
October  12,  1905.  The  Conference  Board  accepted  these  conditions  August  i 
21,  1906,  and  December  20,  1906,  the  legal  contract  was  signed.     General 


Finance 


77 


Conference  now  took  over  the  control  of  the  India  work,  aided  by  an 
India  Committee  made  up  of  all  the  missionaries,  men  and  women,  in  the 
field.  The  written  contract  between  the  two  bodies  pledged  the  Woman's 
Society  to  send  quarterly  to  the  treasurer  of  the  General  Conference  all 
moneys  received  for  the  India  work.  All  un-specified  contributions  were 
subject  to  the  action  of  the  Woman's  Board.  In  this  way  the  Free  Baptist 
Woman's  Missionary  Society  became  a  trustee  for  all  gifts  for  foreign 
missionary  work  to  its  treasury, 
without  sustaining  responsibility  for 
work  over  which  it  had  no  control. 
This  contract  brought  harmony  at 
home  and  abroad  and  strengthened 
the  working  ties  between  men  and 
women.  At  the  same  time  it  re- 
sulted in  deficits  in  some  depart- 
ments of  our  work  which,  under 
the  contract,  the  Conference  Board 
was  pledged  to  meet.  But  our 
love  of  the  work  was  too  great  to 
allow  us  to  look  on  with  indiffer- 
ence. As  in  the  past  we  appealed 
to  our  friends  asking  for  contribu- 
tions toward  a  Contingent  Fund. 
Out  of  this  the  treasurer  was  in- 
structed to  take  each  quarter,  the 
amount  needed  to  meet  depart- 
ment shortages.     This  appeal  met 

with  a  ready  response,  and  the  Contingent  Fund  supplied  every  need.  So 
under  the  contract  we  contributed  as  much  to  the  India  Fund  as  we  had 
previously  done. 

Our  brief  review  of  the  finances  of  the  Free  Baptist  Woman's  Mission- 
ary Society  would  not  be  complete  without  mentioning  its  Permanent 
Fund.  Early  in  its  history  legacies  began  to  accumulate  until  now  it 
amounts  to  $59,000,  with  as  much  more  known  to  be  coming  to  it.  It  is 
made  up  of  a  number  of  individual  funds  named  for  the  donors,  the  income 
to  be  used  according  to  their  expressed  wishes.  The  largest  as  yet,  $30,000, 
is  the  Cristy  Fund.     It  was  given  by  the  will  of  Robert  Cristy  of  Dover, 


Miss  Edyth  R.  Porter 
Treasurer    1913-1920 


78 


The  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society 


N.  H.  He  directed  that  the  income  be  used  for  the  "  education  of  the 
colored  children  in  the  United  States  in  the  English  branches."  This  pays 
salaries  in  whole  or  in  part  at  Storer  College,  Harper's  Ferry,  West  Virginia. 


Miss  May  Malvern 
Vice-President    1916-1917 


The  investing  of  the  funds  is  in  the  hands  of  an  Investment  Committee  ap- 
pointed by  the  Society  annually. 

Only  the  treasurer  and  assistant  have  been  paid  officers.  In  addition 
a  small  appropriation  has  been  made  from  time  to  time  for  field  work, 
mostly  in  the  West,  and  yearly  for  a  Secretary  of  the  Literature  Depart- 
ment.    In  addition  to  her  regular  work  as  treasurer,  the  writer,  the  incum- 


f^  It 


Finance  79 

bent  of  that  office  for  forty  years,  has  travelled  much  East  and  West.  I 
want  to  testify  that  this  service  has  brought  me  in  touch  with  some  of 
the  most  considerate,  kind-hearted,  responsive  and  loyal  of  women.  This 
gratuitous  service  has  been  shared  with  many  of  our  women,  visiting 
churches  and  attending  quarterly  and  yearly  meetings  and  thank,  offering 
services.  The  greatest  agent  of  all  for  getting  funds  has  been  The  Mission- 
ary Helper.  Its  pages  were  aways  open  to  monthly  "  Treasurer's  Notes," 
and  to  appeals  from  India  and  the  home  field. 

When  the  General  Conference  Board  passed  over  the  control  of  all 
s  benevolences,  to  the  Northern  Baptists  in  1911,  the  obligations  of  the  con- 
tract were  assumed  by  the  American  Baptist  Foreign  Mission  Society,  until 
the  Woman's  Societies  should  have  time  to  get  acquainted  and  decide  upon 
a  wise  pohcy  for  future  work.  These  obligations  were  later  transferred  from 
the  American  Baptist  Foreign  Mission  Society  to  the  Women's  American 
Baptist  Foreign  Mission  Society,  when  in  1916  the  latter  organization 
became  responsible  for  our  work  in  India.  Now  all  our  work  is  a  part  of 
the  Woman's  American  Baptist  Home  and  Foreign  Mission  Societies,  and 
it  must  be  a  satisfaction  to  the  women  of  the  Free  Baptist  Woman's  Mis- 
sionary Society  to  know  that  the  Woman's  Baptist  Societies  are  pledged 
to  appropriate  at  least  as  much  ta  our  home  and  foreign  work  as  our  Society 
was  doing  at  the  time  of  the  transfer.  As  the  years  go  by  and  needs  arise 
doubtless  the  appropriations  for  the  same  will  increase,  yes,  beyond  what 
we,  with  our  limited  constituency,  could  hope  to  do  for  our  well-loved 
work. 

It  is  necessary  that  our  Society  continue  its  incorporation  for  an  in- 
definite period  to  care  for  unmatured  legacies,  the  transfer  of  the  same, 
and  such  other  legal  and  financial  matters  as  may  need  to  come  before  it. 

The  Free  Baptist  Woman's  Missionary  Society  has  a  record  that  will 
bear  scrutiny  and  is  the  story  of  the  love  of  many  women  for  its  work  that 
will  be  passed  on  to  children's  chidren. 

We  thank  Thee  more  than  all,  dear  Lord, 

For  the  gift  of  thy  dear  Son, 
That   whosoever   will   may    come. 

And  offered   mercy  find ; 
That  whosoever  means  not  one, 

But  all  of  human  kind. 

Elizabeth  Pattan 


CHAPTER    VIII 

The   Thank-Offering   Service 

"  It  may  not  be  my  way, 
It  may  not  be  thy  way; 
And  yet  in  His  own  way 
The  Lord  will  provide." 

^HE  Boston  Herald  of  January  3,  1916,  says  the  Advocate,  gives 
an  extract  from  a  lecture  by  Dean  Fenn  of  the  Harvard  Divinity 
School,  at  one  of  the  Lowell  Institute  lectures,'  on  ''  The  Religious 
History  of  New  England."  He  described  the  rise,  influence  and  doctrine  of 
the  Freewill  Baptists  and  quoted  the  testimony  of  Henry  Ward  Beecher 
to  the  effect  that  the  Freewill  Baptists  were  always  on  the  right  side  of 
every  moral  question,  and  on  the  evangelical  side  of  every  controverted 
doctrine.  "  The  preachers  of  those  churches,"  said  the  lecturer,  "  kept 
journals,  and  I  know  of  no  documents  richer  in  human  interest  than  these 
memories,  nor  any  which  throw  more  light  on  the  New  England  of  the 
first  half  century." 

We,  the  heirs  of  their  large  faith,  forethought  and  good  deeds,  have 
a  most  wonderful  heritage,  which  we  are  trying  to  pass  on  to  bless  others, 
the  world  over.  In  October  1890,  the  annual  meeting  of  our  Free  Baptist 
Woman's  Missionary  Society  was  held  in  Dr.  Rivington  D.  Lord's  church 
in  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  in  connection  with  the  denominational  Anniversaries. 
Each  report  was  most  interesting.  From  that  of  the  Corresponding  Secre- 
tary, Mrs.  Lowell,  we  learned  of  the  many  doors  of  opportunity  wide  open 
and  inviting  our  attention  as  never  before.  Our  missionaries  in  India  and 
our  teachers  at  Storer  College,  West  Virginia,  were  asking  for  larger  ap- 
propriations with  which  to  meet  these  opportunities  and  enter  these  open 
doors.  Some  of  our  western  churches  were  also  looking  to  us  for  aid; 
but  the  present  resources  of  our  society  were  not  equal  to  these  extra  de- 
mands. Our  President,  Mrs.  Mary  A.  Davis,  called  a  special  meeting  of  the 
Board  of  Managers,  for  the  early  morning  hours,  in  the  parlors  of  Mrs. 
Lord,  to  carefully  consider  these  needs  and  try  to  find  some  way  to  increase 
our  funds.  The  women  met  promptly,  and,  after  stating  the  object  of  the 
meeting,  Mrs.  Davis  suggested  that  we  have  a  season  of  prayer,  asking 

8o 


The  Thank-Offering  Service 


that  the  way  be  clearly  revealed  to  us.  All  knelt,  and  each  of  those  women 
pled  for  the  guidance  so  sorely  needed  in  our  work.  As  we  arose,  Mrs.  Wade 
requested  that  Mrs.  Anna  E.  Dexter  should  sing  the,  then,  new  hymn  "  The 
Lord  will  Provide,"  and  as  her 
beautiful  voice  so  sweetly  sang 
the  words  at  the  head  of  this 
chapter  the  sentiment  of  the  song 
seemed  to  rest  upon  us  like  a 
benediction.  Just  why  the  re- 
membrance of  a  Thank-Offering 
service  of  the  Woman's  Christian 
Temperance  Union  recently  at- 
tended in  her  home  city.  Provi- 
dence, R.  I.,  should  so  persistently 
recur  to  Mrs.  Ricker,  until  she 
suggested  it  as  a  possible  plan, 
and  Mrs.  Porter,  who  also  at- 
tended this  service,  should  so 
heartily  approve,  and  ,the  other 
women  so  enthusiastically  endorse 
the  idea,  seems  more  beautifully 
answered  in  Isaiah  65-25,  "And 
it  shall  come  to  pass,  that  before 
they  call,  I  will  answer;  and  while 
they  are  yet  speaking  I  will  hear." 
Mrs.  Andrews,  Mrs.  Ricker  and  Mrs.  Porter  were  appointed  a  committee 
to  have  charge  of  the  matter,  and  it  was  decided  to  arrange  for  Thank- 
Offering  Services  to  be  held  on  June  10,  1891.  Many  letters  were  written 
friends,  churches  and  pastors  in  its  behalf;  and  explanatory  articles,  a  letter 
of  appeal  to  the  women  of  the  auxiliaries,  a  "  Call  "  and  "  Suggestive  Pro- 
gram," were  prepared  for  numbers  of  the  Missionary  Helper  from  February 
to  May. 

At  the  Annual  Meeting  the  following  Autumn  our  Treasurer,  Miss 
DeMeritte,  reported  four  hundred  dollars  as  the  financial  result  of  our 
first  Thank  Offering,  and  so  many  letters  were  received  commending  the 
service  as  one  of  spiritual  uplift  and  profit,  that  it  was  voted  to  observe  it 
each  year,  and  the  same  committee  was  re-elected.     After  three  years  Mrs. 


Mrs.  Clara  A.  Ricker 

Twenty-two  years   Chairman   of  Thank 

Offering  Committee 


82  The  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society 

Andrews  resigned,  because  of  her  many  duties,  but  very  much  of  the  suc- 
cess of  this  observance  is  due  to  her  clear  foresight,  business  methods,  and 
the  firm  foundation,  laid  by  her,  of  prayer,  service,  and  sacrifice.  Mrs. 
Porter  served  on  this  committee  as  an  active  member  until  called  to  lay 
aside  the  cares  of  this  life.  Mrs.  Ricker  served  continuously  for  twenty-five 
years.  Others  have  been  members:  Mrs.  Swan,  Mrs.  Dexter,  Mrs.  Cheney, 
Mrs.  Whitcomb,  Mrs.  Jordan,  Mrs.  Stillman,  Miss  Waterman,  each  serving 
faithfully  and  well. 

It  was  decided  to  designate  May  as  Thank  Offering  month,  in  which 
each  Church  and  Auxiliary  could  select  the  time  most  convenient.  But 
always  the  "  Call  "  appeared  in  the  March  Helper,  and  a  suggestive  pro- 
gram in  the  April  number,  and  printed  invitations  and  envelopes  for  the 
gifts  were  furnished  free  to  all.  This  Thank-Offering  Service  became  one 
of  the  characteristic  features  of  the  work  of  our  Woman's  Society.  From 
the  "  Bureau  of  Missionary  Intelligence  "  so  ably  cared  for  by  Mrs.  Chap- 
man, poems,  stories,  curios  and  costumes  were  always  available.  The 
committee  spared  neither  time  nor  pains  in  gathering  from  the  missionary 
supplies  of  all  denominations,  material  suitable  and  attractive  for  this 
service.  Many  of  our  most  talented  writers  prepared  original  exercises 
of  permanent  worth.  The  use  of  the  Society  colors,  blue  and  gold,  on 
invitations  and  banners,  decorations  and  costumes  made  the  Thank-Offering 
meeting  one  of  the  red-letter  events  of  the  year.  So  popular  did  it  be- 
come that  the  children  also  observed  it,  having  a  meeting  and  program  all 
their  own.  To  our  Baptist  sisters  with  whom  we  are  now  working,  the 
Free  Baptist  Wom.an's  Missionary  Society  has  brought  this  much-loved 
observance  and  it  has  been  cordially  received  by  many  of  them  and  in 
some  states  has  become  a  part  of  the  scheduled  program  of  the  work. 

There  has  been  a  steady  increase  in  gifts  year  by  year,  the  total  for 
the  first  twenty-three  years  reaching  $30,000.00,  and  totals  since  have  given 
us  many  thousands  and  enabled  us  to  greatly  extend  the  scope  of  our 
work.  Surely  "  Faith  and  Works  win."  But  far  beyond  the  worth  of 
these  recorded  results  is  the  value  of  the  unwritten  history;  the  deepening 
of  the  spiritual  life  of  the  individual  and  of  the  society  through  gifts  and 
prayer  and  service. 

"  No   offering  of  mj^  own   I  have, 
Nor  works  my  faith  to  prove, 
I  can  but  give  the  gifts  He  gave, 
And  plead  His  love  for  love." 


CHAPTER    IX 

Children's  Work 

We   had   counted   up   the   offering 

Of  the  tiny  dimpled  hands, 
That  with  joy  their  all  were  proffering. 

For   some    child   in   far,   dark   lands. 

Alice  Twort  Bassett 

ANY  one  at  all  familiar  with  Free  Baptist  History  is  well  aware 
that  very  early  in  the  life  of  the  denomination  the  imi^rtance 
of  work  for  and  with  the  children  was  duly  emphasized. 

In  1850,  at  the  third  annual  meeting  of  the  Freewill  Baptist  Female 
Missionary  Society,  Amos  Sutton,  twenty  years  a  missionary  in  India, 
said,  "  Teach  your  children  about  missions.  Sow  the  seed  in  their  young 
hearts  and  it  will  blossom  and  bring  forth  fruit  when  they  are  men  and 
women."  And  this  admonition  seems  to  have  been  ever  before  our  women. 
Four  years  after  the  organization  of  the  Free  Baptist  Woman's  Missionary 
Society  in  1873,  plans  were  made  to  interest  the  children  in  sending  a  mis- 
sionary of  their  own  to  India.  Mission  Bands  were  formed  in  many 
churches;  the  children  aided  materially  in  the  support  of  Miss  Ida  O. 
Phillips,  the  first  children's  missionary,  and  later  in  the  support  of  Miss 
Emilie  E.  Barnes,  also  in  the  building  of  Myrtle  Hall,  the  girls'  dormitory, 
at  Storer  College.  In  1895,  the  children  and  young  people  of  Rhode  Island 
united  in  the  support  of  the  first  kindergarten  in  our  Field,  held  in  the  new 
Kindergarten  Hall  at   Balasore,   India. 

Children's  Secretaries  were  appointed  east  and  west,  who  did  much  to 
stimulate  Missionary  interest  among  the  children  of  our  churches.  It 
was  one  of  these  secretaries,  Mj;s.  Ethelyn  H.  Roberts,  who  had  put  much 
time  and  loving  thought  into  work  for  the  children,  who  organized  in  her 
own  church  in  Pawtucket,  R.  I.,  in  June  1808,  the  first  "  Cradle  Roll." 
A  report  of  the  first  Cradle  Roll  Party  held  in  that  church  was  given  at  a 
Board  Meeting  of  the  F.  B.  W.  M.  S.  the  following  summer  at  Ocean  Park, 


84  The  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society 

Maine.  It  attracted  the  attention  and  interest  of  Miss  L.  A.  DeMeritte, 
who  asked  that  Mrs.  Roberts  present  this  plan  of  work  with  the  children, 
at  the  Annual  Meeting  at  Dover,  N.  H.  A  similar  plan  had  been  used  by 
other  denominations.  This  plan  was  favorably  received  at  the  Annual 
Meeting  and  soon  "  Cradle  Rolls  of  Little  Light  Bearers  "  were  organized 
east  and  west,  and  hundreds  of  young  men  and  women  in   our  churches 

today  will  recall  the  Cradle  Roll  Rallies 
which  they  attended  with  mothers,  where 
they  first  learned  of  our  "  Brown  Babies  " 
of  India,  and  gave  their  pennies  in  the 
little  blue  dollie  mite-boxes.  Who  can 
doubt  that  the  "  drives  "  of  later  years 
were  made  possible  because  of  the  training 
received  in  those  early  days.  Surely  the 
thought  of  the  Cradle  Roll  was  a  seed 
planted  in  some  mother's  heart  by  God 
himself.  Many  mothers  were  encouraged 
by  the  motto  of  the  first  attractive  enroll- 
ment card  to  teach  their  little  ones  to  — 

"Begin  in  the  cradle  in  earliest  youth, 

,,       ^  T-    TT    .1  To  send  to  the  Christless  God's  precious 

Mrs.   Laura   E.   Hartley 

Cradle    Roll    Superintendent 

eleven  years  Many     women     who     had     not     been 

at  all  interested  in  church-life  and 
work,  were  reached  and  helped,  and  given  a  broader  view  of  life  and  ser- 
vice to  God  and  humanity,  because  of  the  interest  in  her  baby  shown  by 
the  Cradle  Roll  Superintendent. 

As  this  was  especially  a  work  of  little  children,  for  little  children,  the 
money  from  the  mite-boxes  was  used  to  support  the  little  ones  in  Sinclair 
Orphanage,  Balasore,  India.  The  first  Cradle  Roll  baby  was  Anandini,  an 
orphan  girl  who  came  into  the  hands  of  Miss  Gaunce,  then  Superintendent 
of  Sinclair  Orphanage.  The  second  was  Bijou,  then  Jennie  and  others 
followed.  It  would  be  interesting,  if  we  had  space  in  this  chapter,  to 
speak  of  these  girls,  now  grown  to  womanhood  —  of  how  they  developed 
Christian  character  under  the  influence  of  the  Orphanage  "  Mothers,"  and 
are  now  in  Christian  homes  of  their  own,  with  all  that  means  in  India. 


Our  Babies,  Over-Land  and  Over-Seas 


86 


The  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society 


When  Mrs.  Roberts  resigned  from  her  position  as  General  Cradle  Roll 
Secretary,  Mrs.  Ada  M.  L.  George  proved  a  worthy  successor,  and  many 
a  mother  remembers  the  helpful  letters  of  this  faithful  worker.  She  in 
turn  was  succeeded  by  Mrs.  Julia  T.  Mitchell,  who  served  for  one  year 
faithfully  and  well.     Then  the  writer  was  appointed  to  the  position,  which 

she  held  for  eleven  years,  until 
because  of  union  with  the 
Baptists,  the  office  was  dis- 
continued. 

The  first  beautiful  Enroll- 
ment Card  bore  the  stamp  of 
our  Society,  but  came  to  us 
through  the  courtesy  of  an- 
other denomination.  This 
with  an  explanatory  leaflet, 
written  by  Mrs.  Roberts,  giv- 
ing our  plan  of  work,  com- 
prised our  Cradle  Roll  equip- 
ment until  1907.  Then  leaflets 
were  issued,  pictured  stories 
of  our  India  Brown  Babies, 
exercises  for  Rally  Day,  our 
own  enrollment  cards,  me- 
morial certificates,  and  mite- 
boxes  made  attractive  by 
pictures  of  our  Cradle  Roll 
children  at  home  and  over- 
seas. Rally  Day  invitations 
and  birthday  postcards.  Large 
space  was  ever  generously 
accorded  the  Cradle  Roll  cause  in  the  pages  of  the  Misionary  Helper  by 
its  editor,  Mrs.  Whitcomb,  who  delighted  in  this  work  for  tlie  children. 
All  this  publicity  helped  to  increase  interest  and  soon  we  had  about  two 
thousand  children  enrolled  in  this  work  for  the  Kingdom. 

The  children  were  members  of  the  Cradle  Roll  from  birth  until  six 
years  of  age.  To  fill  the  need  in  churches  where  there  was  no  Junior  C.  E. 
the  Advanced  Light  Bearers  Society  was  formed,  that  the  missionary  train- 


Jennie  June, 
supported  by  Cradle  Roll 


Children's  Work 


87 


ing  might  be  continued.  Into  this,  the  six-year-old  Little  Light  Bearers 
were  graduated  becoming  Advanced  Light  Bearers.  This  older  society 
gave  some  woman  in  the  church  scope  for  all  her  mother-love  and  ingenuity. 
The  meetings  were 
real  trips  into 
wonderland  for  the 
children.  India, 
China  and  Japan 
were  visited  in  song 
and  story  and  pic- 
ture, until  the  chil- 
dren of  these  coun- 
tries became  almost 
as  real  as  the  chil- 
dren about  them. 
Many  happy  hours 
were  spent  in  mak- 
i  n  g  scrap-books, 
pasting  post-cards, 
and  dressing  dolls, 
to  be  sent  to  the 
missionaries  for  the 
children    over-seas. 

Many    of    our 
young      men      and 

women  trace  the  beginning  of  their  interest  in  missions  to  the  meetings  of 
these  children's  societies. 

Our  "  Cradle  Rolls "  have  now  become  "  Jewell  Bands "  and  the 
Advanced  Light  Bearers  Heralds,  but  the  work  for  and  with  the  children 
goes  on,  and  we  rejoice  in  the  larger  opportunities  that  the  present  brings 
to  our  children  and  young  people. 


Robert  and  Kenneth  Frost  and  their  Ayah. 
Balasore,  Orissa 


And   always   love   can   speed   with    gladness 

Nor  need  beware, 
May  we  not  hope,  0   God,   that  loving 

Is  part   of  prayer? 

Id.\  Lord  Remick 


CHAPTER    X 
Union 

With  grateful  hearts  the  past  we  own, 

The   future  all   to   us   unknown, 
We,  to  Thy  guardian  care  commit 

And  peaceful  leave  before  Thy   feet. 

Doddridge 

"^HE  Free  Baptist  Woman's  Missionary  Society  maintained  a  very 
independent  organization  from  1873  to  1906.  But  somewhat 
previous  to  1906  there  had  been  a  growing  conviction  that  a 
closer  co-operation  between  General  Conference  and  the  Woman's  Society 
would  make  for  more  effective  service  on  the  Foreign  Field.  After  much 
discussion  and  a  careful  study  of  the  situation,  a  contract,  conserving  the 
interests  of  each,  was  made  between  the  Free  Baptist  Woman's  Missionary 
Society  and  the  Conference  Board  of  the  General  Conference  of  Free  Bap- 
tists, December  20,  1906,  for  union  of  work  in  the  Bengal-Orissa  Field. 
When  the  General  Conference  united  with  the  A.  B.  F.  M.  S.  some  arrange- 
ment had  to  be  made  about  this  contract.  It  was  decided  that  for  the 
present  it  would  be  best  for  the  A.  B.  F.  M.  S.  to  take  it  over,  which  it 
did  September  26,  1911. 

At  the  Annual  Meeting  of  the  Free  Baptist  Woman's  Missionary  So- 
ciety, August  2,  1915,  all  recognized,  even  those  who  had  been  most  con- 
servative and  reluctant,  that  the  rapid  union  of  state  and  church  societies 
was  making  a  change  of  policy  imperative  and  a  committee  on  Conference 
with  Baptist  workers  was  appointed.  This  committee  was  Mrs.  M.  A.  W. 
Bachelder,  Mrs.  F.  S.  Mosher,  Miss  Edyth  R.  Porter,  Mrs.  Lucy  P.  Durgin, 
Mrs.  Harriet  P.  Stone,  Miss  Harriet  A.  Deering.  The  first  joint  meeting 
was  with  members  of  the  A.  B.  F.  M.  S.  at  Ford  Building,  Boston,  Tuesday, 
December  14,  1915,  at  ten  A.  M.  Mrs.  Mosher,  Miss  Porter  and  Mrs. 
Bachelder  represented  the  committee.  A  careful  review  of  the  situation 
was  made  and  a  joint  meeting  of  the  three  Foreign  Mission  Boards  planned 

88 


-4^ 


Union  89 

for  Thursday  the  16th  at  two  P.  M.  The  situation  was  again  reviewed, 
followed  by  frank  discussion.  The  time  did  not  seem  ripe  for  final  plans 
but  the  hope  was  expressed  that  these  could  be  made  before  the  annual 
meeting  of  the  Baptist  Boards  in  May.    The  following  vote  was  taken: 

"  WHEREAS,  an  invitation  has  been  extended  by  the  Woman's  Ameri- 
can Baptist  Foreign  Missionary  Society  to  the  Free  Baptist  Woman's  Mis- 
sionary Society  to  unite  with  them  in  foreign  missionary  work,  provided 
satisfactory  arrangements  can  be  made  with  the  American  Baptist  Foreign 
Mission  Society,  and  WHEREAS,  preliminary  Conference  has  been  held 
between  representatives  of  the  Free  Baptist  Woman's  Missionary  Society- 
and  the  American  Baptist  Foreign  Missionary  Society,  and, 

"  WHEREAS,  a  continuance  of  the  present  arrangement  between  the 
Free  Baptist  Woman's  Missionary  Society  and  the  American  Baptist  For- 
eign Mission  Society  respecting  support  of  work  in  the  Bengal-Orissa 
field  involves  increasing  difficulty  for  the  Free  Baptist  Woman's  Missionary 
Society  in  the  raising  of  funds  among  their  constituency  on  account  of  the 
rapid  progress  of  union  between  Free  Baptist  and  Baptist  churches,  and 
the  consequent  tendency  to  the  coalescing  of  woman's  circles  of  the 
Woman's  American  Baptist  Foreign  Mission  Society  and  the  woman's 
auxiliaries  of  the  Free  Baptist  Woman's  Missionary  Society; 

"  RESOLVED  That  this  conference  recommends  to  the  Boards  repre- 
sented, for  favorable  consideration,  a  proposal  for  union  of  the  Free  Bap- 
tist Woman's  Missionary  Society  and  the  Woman's  American  Baptist  For- 
eign Missionary  Society  in  foreign  work,  provided  that  arrangements  for 
such  union  mutually  satisfactory  to  the  two  Woman's  Societies  can  be 
perfected;  and  provided  that  arrangements  for  the  conduct  and  support 
of  woman's  work  in  the  Bengal-Orissa  Mission  can  be  made  to  the  mutual 
satisfaction  of  the  Free  Baptist  Woman's  Missionary  Society,  the  Woman's 
American  Baptist  Foreign  Mission  Society  and  the  American  Baptist  Foreign 
Mission  Society;  and,  in  case  of  approval  of  this  proposal,  each  of  the  three 
Boards  appoint  representatives  upon  a  joint  committee,  to  consider  and  pre- 
sent a  detailed  plan  for  union  covering  the  various  questions  involved." 

The  President  of  the  Free  Baptist  Woman's  Missionary  Society,  Mrs. 
Lucy  P.  Durgin,  and  the  Corresponding  Secretary,  Miss  Lena  S.  Fenner, 
attended  the  Northern  Baptist  Convention  at  Minneapolis  in  May,  1916, 
and  met  some  of  the  Baptist  Women,  both  Home  and  Foreign,  in  council. 

Another   joint   meeting  was   held   June    15,    1916,   at   Ford   Building, 


90  The  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society 

Boston.  After  most  careful  consideration  it  was  resolved  that  the  con-, 
tract  between  the  A.  B.  F.  M.  S.  and  the  F.  B.  W.  M.  S.  be  abrogated; 
that  the  W.  A.  B.  F.  M.  S.  assume  the  support  of  all  the  work  of  the  F. 
B.  W.  M.  S.  in  India;  that  the  F.  B.  W.  M.  S.,  in  union  with  it,  pay  its 
foreign  mission  money  toward  the  work  as  in  the  past,  also  the  income  of 

the  invested  funds  above  a  due  pro- 
portion for  administrative  expenses; 
that  the  property  in  the  Bengal- 
Orissa  Field  be  transferred  to  the 
W.  A.  B.  F.  M.  S.  on  condition  that 
it  be  used  for  the  purposes  speci- 
fied; that  the  legal  organization  of 
the  F.  B.  W.  M.  S.  be  kept  for  the 
care  of  invested  funds  and  what- 
ever trusts  through  bequests  and 
other  gifts  may  come  to  it;  that 
The  Missionary  Helper  be  continued 
for  the  present  and  that  a  com- 
mittee be  chosen  as  a  medium  for 
all  arrangements  between  the  two 
societies.  This  report  was  accepted 
by  the  Board  of  Managers  of  the 
Free  Baptist  Woman's  Missionary 
Society,  July  25,  and  ratified  by  the 
Society  at  its  annual  meeting  at 
Ocean  Park,  Maine,  August  2,  1916. 
The  following  action  was  taken 
by  the  Finance  Committee  and  For- 
eign Department  of  the  Woman's  American  Baptist  Foreign  Mission  Society 
on  August  2,  1916:  VOTED:  "To  accept  the  report  of  the  Sub-Committee 
of  Conference,  respecting  the  Woman's  Work  in  the  Bengal-Orissa  Field, 
held  in  Boston  on  June  15,  1916,  and  to  endorse  the  action  of  the  Board 
of  Managers  of  the  Free  Baptist  Woman's  Missionary  Society  at  its 
Annual  Meeting,  held  in  Ocean  Park,  Maine,  on  July  25,  1916."  At  a 
meeting  of  the  same  committee,  October  4,  1916,  the  following  action  was 
taken :  VOTED :  "  That  the  Free  Baptist  Woman's  Missionary  Board  be 
requested  to  appoint  one  woman  to  serve  unoflficially  on  this  committee 


Mrs.  Mary  Augusta  Wade  Bachelder 

Our  Representative  to  the 

W.  A.  B.  F.  M.  S. 


Union  g  i 

until  the  Board  of  Managers  can  appoint  and  the  Executive  Committee 
elect  her."  Mrs.  M.  A.  W.  Bachelder  was  appointed  to  this  place  and  has 
been  cordially  received  at  the  meetings.  Union  with  the  Woman's  American 
Baptist  Home  Mission  Society  was  made  less  complicated  as  the  F.  B.  W. 
M.  S.  had  no  Home  Mission  contract  with  General  Conference  and  held 
no  real  estate.  After  preliminary  correspondence  and  informal  meetings. 
Mrs.  Lucy  P.  Durgin,  as  a  committee  for  the  F.  B.  W.  M.  S.,  met  a  com- 
mittee from  the  W.  A.  B.  F.  M.  in  Chicago,  February  19,  1917.  Resolu- 
tions, with  all  vital  points  the  same  as  those  of  the  foreign  mission  resolu- 
tions, were  adopted  and  later  accepted  by  the  two  Boards.  At  the  annual 
meeting  of  the  F.  B.  W.  M.  S.  at  Ocean  Park,  ^Nlaine,  August  2,  1917, 
these  were  adopted.  Mrs.  Durgin  has  been  made  a  member  of  the  Home 
Mission  Board.  Invested  funds  were  held  by  the  F.  B.  W.  M.  S.  until 
1921.  At  a  Board  meeting  July  28  of  that  year,  guarantees  were  received 
from  both  the  W.  A.  B.  H.  M.  S.  and  the  W.  A.  B.  F.  M.  S.  that  the  in- 
vested funds  transferred  to  them  by  the  F.  B.  W.  M.  S.  will  be  cared  for 
according  to  the  wishes  and  purposes  of  the  donors.  The  committee  re- 
ported, "  Your  committee  agrees  that  the  time  has  come  for  the  transfer 
of  our  invested  funds  to  these  Societies  and  in  view  of  the  foregoing  action 
we  recommend  that  the  home  and  foreign  permanent  funds  of  the  F.  B. 
W.  M.  S.  be  paid  into  the  treasuries  of  the  W.  A.  B.  F.  M.  and  the  W.  A. 
B.  H.  M.  Societies."  This  report  was  adopted  by  the  Board  and  ratified 
by  the  F.  B.  W.  M.  S.  at  its  annual  meeting,  August  1,  1921.  A  com- 
mittee of  transfer  was  appointed  who,  with  the  Treasurer,  will  complete 
the  work.  Some  undesignated  funds  are  still  held  by  the  Society  for 
special  needs  which  may  arise. 

These  negotiations  have  involved  a  large  correspondence,  the  working 
out  of  many  details,  a  great  desire  to  leave  no  stumbling  block  in  the  way 
of  those  who  follow  and  much  prayer  for  guidance.  The  spirit  on  both 
sides  has  been  for  the  utmost  fairness  to  all,  that  the  work  of  each  shall  be 
properly  conserved;  the  good  of  the  cause  has  been  the  ultimate  in  each 
heart.  With  the  passing  of  the  years  acquaintanship  and  Christian  fellow- 
ship have  grown  and  Free  Baptist  Women  have  been  ready  to  keep  step 
with  the  onward  march  of  Christ's  Kingdom.  They  are  meeting  the  new 
situation  in  that  liberality  of  spirit,  strength  and  conviction,  courage  in 
action,  faith  in  prayer,  that  has  characterized  them  in  the  past. 

"  For  their  sakcs  I  con.>;ecrate   myself." 

Jesus 


CHAPTER   XI 

Onward 

Oh,  let  us  hear  the  inspiring  word, 
Which  they  of  old  at  Horeb  heard, 
Breathe   to   our  hearts  the  high   command, 
Go  onward  and  possess  the  land! 

John   Hay 

O  appreciate  the  transformation  that  has  been  wrought  in  the 
period  of  time  herein  outlined,  one  has  only  to  test  the  conscience 
of  a  century  ago,  —  introspective,  dogmatic,  unyielding,  — with 
that  of  today,  —  f ar-visioned,  of  broad  fellowship,  concilatory.  In  woman's 
life  in  this  country  in  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  we  see  her  relegated  to 
her  domestic  sphere,  having  no  public  part  in  the  passing  phases  of  life 
about  her;  while  today,  in  civic  life  woman  wields  the  ballot,  in  educa- 
tional and  industrial  life  she  occupies  a  place  and  forms  a  factor  to  be 
reckoned  with,  and  in  the  church  she  determines  the  policies  of  Mission 
Boards,  which  policies  reach  to  the  ends  of  the  earth. 

In  Home  Missions  we  contrast  the  ignorant,  helpless  Negro  of  1865 
with  the  educated,  property-holding,  professional  man  or  woman  of  influ- 
ence today.  In  India  it  is  a  long  way  from  the  shut-in,  dependent,  super- 
stitious child-wife,  with  whom  we  began  a  half  century  ago,  to  the  edu- 
cated, English-speaking,  self-reliant,  single  woman  of  twenty,  who  comes 
the  long  journey  across  the  big  waters,  a  delegate  to  our  Baptist  Jubilee,  — 
our  Khanto  Bala  Rai. 

In  all  this  growth  and  development  of  the  times,  we,  as  an  organized 
body  of  Free  Baptists,  and  our  women,  as  a  Woman's  Missionary  Society, 
have  felt  our  responsibiity  and  performed  our  share  of  the  task.  We  re- 
joice in  the  privilege  that  has  been  ours  and  thank  Him  who  thru  all  the 
years  has  been  the  wisdom  and  power  actuating  His  people.  The  courage 
of  conviction  that  led  us  to  stand  alone  for  principles  in  advance  of  general 
acceptance,  enabled  us,  when  those  principles  became  the  accepted  rule, 

92 


Onward 


93 


and  there  existed  no  longer  reason  for  separation,  to  loyally  return  to  the 
body  of  which  we  were  originally  a  part. 
\/  In  the  union  of  our  Woman's  Work  with  that  of  our  Baptist  sisters 

/         we  believe  the  gain  to  be  mutual.     It  has  been  comparatively  easy  to  work 
out  advance   experiments   of   administration  and  policy  in  a  small  body, 
such  as  ours.     From  early  days  our  men  and  our  women  have  worked  to- 
gether on  committees  and  in  General 
Conference.       To     our     union     we 
bring    this    experience. 

Now  it  is  ours  to  learn  to 
grapple  with  large  problems,  to  ex- 
tend our  vision  to  many  fields  of 
endeavor.  Our  Christian  character 
will  be  broadened  and  deepened 
by  this  larger  fellowship  and  ser- 
vice. While  doing  a  creditable 
work  with  the  children,  we  have 
realized  the  incompleteness  of  our 
system  of  organization  for  our  girls 
and  young  women.  In  many  in- 
stances the  Junior  and  Senior 
Endeavor  Societies  have  ably  filled 
this  need.  We  rejoice  now  that  our 
girls  and  young  women  are  to  have 
the  advantages  and  opportunities  of 
the  Children's  World  Crusade  and 
World  Wide  Guide.  Education  in 
missions  and  its  expression  is  now  a 
complete  span  from  the  babies  in  the 
in   the   Extension   Department. 

Our  Denomination  and  Society  have  had  an  honored  and  honorable 
past.  Let  us  carry  with  us  all  that  is  valuable  into  a  larger  and  more 
useful  future.  We  rejoice  in  the  happy  manner  in  which  we  have  been 
received  into  the  new  working  order.  We  bespeak  for  our  women  as  large 
a  place  as  is  commensurate  with  their  worth.  We  urge  upon  our  women 
a  large  loyalty  and  an  eager  participation  in  the  new  way. 

The  great  Baptist  Mission  Over-Sea  and  Over-Land  includes  our  smaller 


Mrs.   Lena  Fenner   Dennett 
Corresponding  Secretary   1910- 

Jewell  Band  "  to  the  retired  veterans 


94  The  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society 

Mission,  and  holds  within  it  all  of  impetus  and  inspiration  to  command 
our  utmost  endeavor  and  fullest  out-pouring  of  resources.  And  because 
both  Baptists  and  Free  Baptists  are  Christ's,  and  we  are  one  in  Him,  we 
recognize  our  common  task  as  a  Kingdom  Enterprise,  in  which  we  are 
laborers  together,  and  together  with  Him. 

"  Out   of   the   shadow    of    night 
The   world   moves  into   light 
It  is  daybreak  everywhere!  " 


CHAPTER  XII 
Our  Presidents 

When  I'm  kneeling  at  the  altar,  Thou  seemest  close  beside, 
To  gather-up  the  tender  prayers  breathed  out  so  far  and  wide, 
For  all  the  loved  and  loving  ones  whom  Thou  to  us  hast  given, 
To  make  life's  path  more  beautiful  and  point  the  way  to  Heaven. 

Mary  R.  Wadb 

EMELINE    BURLINGAME-CHENEY 

MELINE  STANLEY  was  born  to  Wellington  and  Celeste  Angell 
=^  Aldrich,  Sept.  22,  1836.  Her  life  until  her  marriage  was  spent 
1^^ J  in  Providence,  R.  I.,  where  the  sunset  period  of  her  life  is  now 


being  passed.  She  entered  High  School  at  twelve,  graduating  at  fifteen, 
when  she  began  teaching.  Means  were  thus  earned  to  enable  her  to  take 
the  R.  I.  Normal  School  course  of  one  year.  In  school  she  excelled  in 
memory  work,  in  composition  and  recitation.  She  taught  from  this  time 
until  her  marriage  at  twenty-three.  Her  first  trip  out  of  her  native  state 
was  made  by  carriage  to  Boston  when  she  was  fifteen.  Two  years  later 
she  went  by  train  to  New  York.     These  were  great  events. 

She  says,  "  Before  I  was  three  years  old  my  mother  began  taking  me 
to  the  Roger  Williams  Church;  Sunday  School  and  Church  in  the  morning 
and  again  to  Church  in  the  afternoon."  When  fifteen,  her  Sunday  School 
teacher  asked  her  if  she  wasn't  ready  to  become  a  Christian.  "  The 
thought  at  once  came  forcibly  to  me  that  I  should  never  become  a  Chris- 
tian in  future  time,  it  must  be  in  some  present  moment."  She  made  the 
decision  and  was  baptized  in  April,  1851,  by  Rev.  Eli  Noyes,  returned  from 
India,  and  pastor  of  the  Roger  Williams  Church.  She  says,  "  The  Roger 
Williams  Church  opened  its  doors  to  advocates  of  anti-slavery,  temper- 
ance, and  the  broader  life  for  women.  Few  churches  of  the  other  denom- 
inations did. 

Miss  Aldrich  was  married  on  Thanksgiving  Day,  1859,  to  Luther  R. 
Burlingame,  a  Brown  man,  class  of  '57,  from  Pennsylvania.  The  cere- 
OS 


96  The  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society 

mony  was  performed  by  Dr.  George  T.  Day.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Burlingame 
lived  for  two  years  at  Wellsboro,  Penn.,  where  Mr.  Burlingame  was  prin- 
cipal of  the  Academy,  six  years  at  Whitestown,  N.  Y.,  where  Mr.  Burlingame 
was  Professor  of  Greek  and  Latin  in  our  Free  Baptist  Seminary,  and  then 

seven  years  in  Dover,  N.  H.  Mr. 
Burlingame  became  Publishing  Agent 
in  our  Free  Baptist  Publishing  Es- 
tablishment. Five  children  were 
born  to  them,  two  surviving  to 
adult  life,  Luther  Day  of  Providence. 
R.  L,  and  Minnie  Thomas  of 
Arizona. 

In  Dover  she  began  her  public 
career  of  writing  and  speaking.  She 
contributed  articles  to  the  Morning 
Star,  Little  Star,  and  the  Myrtle, 
becoming  editor  of  the  latter  during 
the  remainder  of  her  stay  in  Dover. 
In  1869,  Dr.  Dio  Lewis  gave  the 
lecture  in  Dover  that  he  gave  three 
years  later  in  Hillsboro,  Ohio,  where 
it  inspired  the  woman's  temperance 
crusade  and  led  to  the  organization 
of  the  W.  C.  T.  U.  In  Dover,  a  com- 
mittee of  women  was  appointed,  meetings  held  and  saloons  visited.  Mrs. 
Burlingame  was  a  member  of  this  committee,  presided  at  the  great  mass 
meetings  held,  and  was  offered  the  leadership  of  the  movement,  which  she 
declined. 

"  In  June,  1873,"  says  Mrs.  Burlingame,  "  Mrs.  M.  M.  H.  Hills  came 
to  my  house  and  told  me  I  had  been  elected  president  of  the  F.  B.  W. 
M.  S.,  just  organized  at  the  New  Hampshire  Yearly  Meeting.  I  at  once 
decided  that  if  president  in  name,  I  would  be  in  fact.  It  had  been  the 
custom  for  women's  societies  in  the  denomination  to  ask  a  minister  to  pre- 
side, read  reports  and  conduct  all  public  business.  I  arranged  at  the  first 
meeting  after  my  election  for  the  women  to  do  their  own  work.  I  well 
remember  the  first  time  I  presided  at  the  Anniversaries  in  1873  at  Farm- 
ington,   N.  H.    The  prominent  men.   Dr.   0.   B.   Cheney,   Rev.   Ebenezer 


Mrs.  Emeline  Burlingame  Cheney 
President   1 873-1 886 


Our  Presidents  97 

Knowlton  (grandfather  of  ex-Governor  Millikin  of  Maine),  who  had 
formerly  conducted  the  exercises  for  the  women,  sat  in  the  front  pew, 
ready  to  grasp  the  helm  should  anything  go  wrong.  Ascending  the  steps 
to  the  platform  I  was  too  abashed  to  stand  behind  that  sacred  thing,  the 
pulpit,  but  stood  beside  it  and  did  my  best.  Other  ofificers  sustained  their 
parts  well.  At  the  close  of  the  exercises  Rev.  Knowlton  came  and  con- 
gratulated me  and  said,  '  The  brethren  will  have  to  look  out  for  their 
laurels  after  this.'  "  In  1874  the  family  moved  to  Providence.  In  the 
fall  of  that  year  the  General  Conference  met  with  Roger  Williams  Church. 
It  was  notable  as  the  first  General  Conference  at  which  a  woman  presided 
over  the  public  meeting  of  the  Woman's  Missionary  Society.  As  Presi- 
dent of  the  Woman's  Missionary  Society,  she  was  asked  to  make  the  dedi- 
catory address  at  Myrtle  Hall,  Storer  College,  May  30,  1879.  For  this 
she  made  her  first  journey  alone,  and,  preceding  the  dedication  gave  an 
evening  of  reading  to  defray  the  expenses  of  the  journey.  Rev.  A.  H. 
Morrell  invited  her  to  preach  for  him  one  Sunday  morning.  This  she  did, 
and  thereafter,  through  the  years,  did  considerable  pulpit  work. 

On  moving  to  Providence,  Mrs.  BurHngame  became  actively  identified 
with  the  Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union  movement,  then  only  a 
few  months  old;  first  with  the  Providence  Union,  then  as  corresponding 
secretary  of  the  State  Union,  and  in  1884-1890  as  president  of  the  latter. 
It  was  during  her  presidency  that  the  campaign  was  on  which  won  for  a 
period  of  three  years,  1886-89,  State  Constitutional  Prohibition.  Into 
this  she  threw  all  of  her  energies,  as  she  did  in  1887  into  the  effort  to 
secure  state  suffrage  for  women.  Through  all  the  years  she  has  been  keenly 
interested  in  these  two  reform  movements,  and  has  lived  to  see  both 
realized  nation-wide.  After  giving  up  her  state  office  in  the  W.  C.  T.  U., 
she  was  appointed,  through  Miss  Willard's  influence,  National  Evangelist. 
This  gave  her  credentials  to  speak  for  the  cause  wherever  she  might  be. 
As  a  sample  of  her  activities  we  quote,  "  For  several  years  I  had  the  work 
connected  with  the  Presidency  of  the  R.  I.  W.  C.  T.  U.,  speaking  once  or 
more  every  Sunday,  attending  frequent  conventions,  keeping  track  of  work 
at  Headquarters  and  the  interests  of  the  local  Unions,  editing  a  semi- 
monthly edition  of  the  Outlook,  and  the  monthly  Missionary  Helper." 

It  was  in  1886  that  Mrs.  Burlingame  resigned  her  position  as  Presi- 
dent of  the  W.  M.  S.  and  January,  1887,  became  Editor  of  the  Missionary 
Helper.     This  position  she  ably  filled  for  eight  years,  adding  new  depart- 


98  The  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society 

ments  to  the  magazine.  In  the  autumn  of  1890,  at  a  meeting  of  the 
Board  in  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  she  was  elected  travelling  agent  for  the  W.  M.  S. 
For  a  year  and  a  half  Hillsdale,  Mich.,  became  her  home,  whence  she 
travelled  twice  from  Maine  to  Dakota,  encouraging  auxiliaries,  organizing 
new  ones,  visiting  yearly  and  quarterly  meetings,  preaching  everywhere 
the  Gospel  of  an  "  Applied  Christianity." 

At  the  General  Conference  held  in  Minneapolis  in  1883,  women  were 
made  members  of  the  Executive  committee  of  the  Foreign  Mission  Society. 
Mrs.  Burlingame  was  not  only  made  a  member  but  one  of  its  vice-presidents. 
She  continued  a  member  until  the  F.  M.  S.  was  merged  into  the  General 
Conference  Board.  About  the  time  the  Methodists  refused  Frances  Wil- 
lard  a  seat  in  their  General  Conference,  Free  Baptists  decided  to  grant 
women  representation  in  their  highest  legislative  body.  Accordingly  sev- 
eral women  were  elected  members  of  the  General  Conference  which  met 
at  Harper's  Ferry,  W.  Va.,  in  1889.  Mrs.  Burlingame  was  one  of  these 
and  from  that  time  until  1904,  when  she  resigned  because  of  change  of 
residence,  she  was  a  member  of  each  General  Conference.  The  benevolent 
societies  were  consolidated  in  1889  into  the  Conference  Board.  Mrs. 
Burlingame  was  elected  one  of  the  seven  women  on  this  Board  and  con- 
tinued until  1904.  She  was  also  vice-president  of  the  Board,  and  pre- 
sided over  two  of  its  sessions.  "  No  work,"  she  says,  "  that  I  have  ever 
done  is  more  important  than  this  —  the  helping  to  plan  and  mould  the 
affairs  of  a  denomination."  As  a  representative  of  the  F.  B.  W.  M.  S., 
she  was  several  times  delegate  to  the  National  Council  of  Women.  At  its 
session  at  Washington,  D.  C,  1894,  she  was  elected  recording  secretary, 
and  in  the  following  fall  went  to  Atlanta,  Ga.,  to  speak  at  a  meeting  of 
the  Council  in  connection  with  the  Exposition.  In  1894  she  resigned  her 
position  as  Editor  of  the  Missionary  Helper,  to  take  effect  at  the  end  of 
that  year. 

Mr.  Burlingame  died  in  1890.  In  1892  Mrs.  Burlingame  married  Dr. 
Orin  B.  Cheney,  President  of  Bates  College,  and  went  to  live  in  Lewiston, 
Maine.  In  Lewiston  Mrs.  Cheney  worked  with  the  college  girls,  leading 
them  to  formulate  a  self-governing  platform  of  principles  and  rules. 
These  "  Principles  "  have  been  printed  and  re-printed  through  the  years 
and  given  to  each  woman  student  as  she  enters,  and  are  in  force  almost 
without  change  to  the  present  time.  In  1898  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Cheney  com- 
pleted the  Chautauqua  Reading  Course  and  graduated  at  the  Chautauqua 


Our  Presidents 


99 


Assembly,  at  Ocean  Park,  Maine.  After  the  death  of  Dr.  Cheney  in  1903, 
Mrs.  Cheney  made  her  home  with  her  daughter.  While  living  in  Holly- 
wood, Cal.,  in  her  seventieth  year,  she  wrote  the  life  of  Dr.  O.  B.  Cheney. 
"  I  have  wanted,"  she  says,  "  to  be  seventy,  to  live  and  to  keep  at  work 
up  to  that  time."  And  on  that  birthday  she  expressed  her  feelings  in  a 
poem,  "I'm  Seventy  Years  Old  Today!  "  In  1918  she  came  back  to  the 
city  of  her  childhood  and 
her  mature  life  to  make 
her  home  with  her  son. 
Today  at  eighty-five  she 
keeps  fresh  her  interest 
in  world  affairs,  her  opti- 
mistic faith  that  right  will 
conquer,  and  occasionally 
she  appears  at  a  mission- 
ary or  temperance  func-  \ 
tion.  ' 

MARY    A.    DAVIS 

Mary  A.  Perkins  was 
born  in  Center  Harbor, 
N.  H.,  April  11,  1836.  the 
daughter  of  Benjamin  and 
Mary  (Drake)  Perkins. 
She  was  a  lineal  de- 
scendant of  Sir  Francis 
Drake.  She  was  gradu- 
ated from  New  Hampton 
Institute  in   1859,  and  was 

preceptress  of  Lebanon  Academy,  1859-61.  Mary  was  converted  at  the  age 
of  fifteen.  While  still  Miss  Perkins  she  became  contributor  to  several 
magazines  and  periodicals.  She  was  married  to  Rev.  J.  Burnham  Davis 
of  Lawrence,  Mass.,  on  May  28,  1861.    Two  sons  were  born  to  them. 

Mrs.  Davis  was  sent  as  a  delegate  from  New  Hampshire  to  the  General 
Conference  at  Harper's  Ferry  in  1889,  the  first  session  to  admit  women 
delegates.     In  1891  she  was  secretary  of  the  National  Council  of  Women, 


Mrs.  Mary  A.  Davis 
President   i 886-1910 


100        The  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society 

and  attended  its  session  in  Washington,  D.  C.  Again  at  the  same  place 
she  attended  the  1895  session  as  the  representative  of  the  F.  B.  W.  M.  S. 
and  was  one  of  its  speakers. 

Mrs.  Davis  was  one  of  the  Board  of  Managers  of  the  F.  B.  W.  M.  S. 
from  its  organization  in  1873  to  1886.  In  1886  she  was  chosen  President 
and  continued  in  that  office  for  twenty-four  years,  until  1910.  During 
her  presidency  most  of  the  departments  of  work  were  inaugurated  and 
poHcies  determined.  Mrs.  Davis  had  a  strong  personality  and  dignified 
bearing.  As  a  presiding  officer  she  was  "  courteous  and  genial,  listening 
patiently  to  the  opinions  of  all.  She  was  frank,  honest,  loyal  to  convic- 
tion, and  held  the  confidence  and  esteem  of  those  with  whom  she  was 
associated."  Another  co-worker  says  of  her,  "  She  was  an  adviser  of 
the  young,  a  counsellor  of  the  perplexed,  a  sympathizer  with  the  sorrow- 
ful. As  a  writer  she  showed  clearness  of  thought  and  practical  grasp  of 
affairs."  A  most  valuable  and  permanent  contribution  to  our  work  was 
the  preparation  and  publication  in  1900  of  her  "History  of  the  Free  Bap- 
tist Woman's  Missionary  Society." 

Her  later  years,  after  the  death  of  her  husband,  were  spent  in  the 
home  of  her  son.  Prof.  Herbert  B.  Davis,  first  in  Worcester,  Mass.,  then 
in  Pittsburgh,  Pa. 

The  F.  B.  W.  M.  S.  in  its  forty-eight  years  of  history  has  had  but 
three  Presidents,  all  remarkably  able  presiding  and  executive  officers. 
When  work  on  this  book  was  begun  they  were  all  three  living.  But  in 
May,  1921,  less  than  a  month  after  the  celebration  of  her  eighty-fifth 
birthday,  Mrs.  Davis  slipped  away  to  her  Heavenly  Home. 

LUCY   PHILLIPS   DURGIN 

Lucy  Marilla,  eighth  daughter  of  Dr.  Jeremiah  and  Hannah  Cum- 
mings  Phillips,  our  first  missionaries  to  India,  was  born  at  New  Hampton, 
N.  H.  She  was  one  of  the  three  of  Dr.  Phillips'  fourteen  children,  born 
in  America,  and  the  only  one  not  to  see  India.  She  was  left  here  at  the 
age  of  ten  years  by  her  parents  on  their  return  because  of  the  lack,  at 
that  time,  of  school  opportunities  in  India. 

She  took  her  preparatory  work  at  Rockford,  Illinois,  and  was  gradu- 
ated from  Hillsdale  College  in  1876,  later  receiving  the  A.  M.  degree. 
She  taught  for  many  years,  serving  as  Dean  of  Women  in  Parker  College 


Our  Presidents  loi 

for  nine  years,  though  her  activities  have  been  more  largely  in  the  home 
and  local  church. 

Miss  Phillips  married  a  classmate,  Dr.  Frank  L.  Durgin,  of  Saco, 
Maine.  Their  home,  for  a  time,  was  in  Sanford,  Maine,  but  for  the  past 
thirty  years,  in  Winnebago,  Minnesota,  where  Dr.  Durgin  was  widely 
known   as   a   successful   physician. 

Their  home  was  fittingly  called  "  Restawhile,"  since  it  frequently  of- 
fered much  needed  rest  to  brothers  and  sisters  on  furloughs  and  afforded 
a  home  for  nieces  and  nephews  left  here  for  education.  Their  immediate 
family  consists  of  one  little  son,  a  much  loved  adopted  daughter  and  a 
foster  son. 

Mrs.  Durgin  was  a  member  of  the  General  Conference  Board  for 
twenty-five  years  and  a  member  of  the  "  Committee  of  Twelve  on  Con- 
ference with  other  Christian  Bodies,"  whose  work  eventuated  in  the  union  of 
Baptists  and  Free  Baptists.  At  the  Ocean  Park  Annual  Meeting  of  1910, 
she  was  elected  president  of  the  F.  B.  W.  M.  S.  In  accepting  the  latter 
office  she  said,  "  It  is  so  blessed  to  be  engaged  in  a  work  which  cannot  fail 
of  success.  The  degree  of  success  will  depend  upon  our  consecration  and 
united  efforts." 

The  life  of  the  Society  during  her  Presidency  has  been  that  of  transi- 
tion, union,  and  adjustment  to  new  conditions,  a  period  fraught  with  dif- 
ficulties and  no  little  of  pathos  as  "  the  old  order  changes."  Her  steady, 
wise  leadership  has  been  and  is  appreciated  by  her  constituency,  and  her 
wit  and  optimism  in  the  chair,  have  tided  over  many  a  tense  moment  in 
our  deliberations.  On  the  union  with  our  Baptist  sisters,  Mrs.  Durgin 
was  made  an  advisory  member  of  the  Home  Mission  Board. 

A  wave  of  the  hand  to  comrades  so  true! 

Come   on!     The   climb?     Yes,   but   then   there's   the   view. 
The   valley   of  conflict  is  softened   by   mist. 
The   peak-*   beyond   gleam    bright,   sun-kissed. 
Clad   I'm  .seventy  years  old   today! 

Emeline    B.    Cheney 


CHAPTER    XIII 

Our  India  Missionaries 

"  I   see    a   hand   you    cannot   see, 
That  beckons  me   away. 
I  hear  a  voice  you  cannot  hear, 
Forbidding    me    to   stay." 

SUSAN    R.    LIBBY 

USAN  R.  LIBBY  of  Dover,  New  Hampshire,  went  to  India  as  the 
first  missionary  of  the  F.  B.  W.  M.  S.  in  the  autumn  of  1874. 
She  was  a  woman  of  strong  personality  and  rare  Christian  devotion. 
After  two  years  of  service  she  was  won  from  her  position  by  a  government 
official,  whose  name  she  graced  for  the  two  succeeding  years,  then  passed 
from  that  land  of  spiritual  darkness  to  the  world  of  endless  light. 

MARY    WASHINGTON    BACHELER 

Mary  Washington  Bacheler,  daughter  of  Dr.  Otis  R.  and  Sarah  P. 
(Merrill)  Bacheler,  was  born  on  February  22,  1860,  in  New  Hampton, 
N.  H.  She  was  the  youngest  of  ten  children.  When  Mary  was  two  years 
old  her  father  returned  to  India  alone.  In  1865  Mrs.  Bacheler  left  Bos- 
ton to  join  her  husband,  taking  only  Mary  with  her.  When  Mary  had 
been  in  India  but  eighteen  months,  she  became  instrumental  in  opening 
to  Christian  visitation  the  first  Mohammedan  home  in  Midnapore.  Learn- 
ing the  language  while  a  child  with  children,  her  fluency  of  expression  and 
command  of  idiom  became  of  great  value  to  her  in  later  service. 

She  came  with  her  parents  to  America  in  1870  and  lived  in  New 
Hampton,  N.  H.  In  1873  she  returned  with  her  parents  to  India,  and, 
though  but  a  girl  in  her  early  teens,  was  able  to  greatly  assist  both  father 
and  mother  in  their  work.  When  seventeen  she  was  appointed  Zenana 
worker  by  the  F.  B.  W.  M.  S.     During  this  time  she  gained  considerable 


Our  India  Missionaries 


103 


knowledge  of  medicine  in  her  father's  dispensary,  so  that  when  she  left 
India  with  her  parents  in  July,  1883,  it  was  with  the  resolution  to  prepare 
herself  as  a  physician.  Accordingly  she  entered  the  Woman's  Medical 
College,  in  New  York  City,  finishing  her  course  in  1890  and  returning  to 
India  that  same  fall,  as  the  first  medical  missionary  of  the  F.  B.  W.  M.  S. 
At  first  working  with  her  father,  she  assumed  the  whole  burden  of  his 
practice,  when  in  1893  her  parents  came  home  for  the  last  time.  Women 
who  would  not  come  to  her  father 
now  came  to  her,  and  calls  from 
the  homes  were  many,  so  that  her 
work  was  greatly  increased.  In 
the  dispensary,  she  started  a  system 
of  tickets,  on  one  side  of  which 
was  the  patient's  name,  disease, 
and  number  of  prescription;  on  the 
other  side  a  Gospel  message.  On 
the  medicine  envelope,  too,  a 
Bible  text  was  printed.  While 
waiting  their  turn  an  attendant  ex- 
plained to  the  patients  the  story  of 
Jesus  and  His  Love. 

Besides  attending  to  her  medi- 
cal practice,  Dr.  Mary  served  on 
the  Church  Committee,  taught  a 
large  Sunday  School  class  of  wo- 
men, took  charge  of  the  children 
too  young  to  attend  church,  and 
was  general  confidante  of  the 
Christian    community.      Physically 

exhausted.  Dr.  Mary  left  for  America  in  1900  to  join  her  aging  parents  in 
New  Hampton,  N.  H.  Not  long  was  their  life  together.  Only  two  weeks  and 
the  mother  slipped  away,  to  be  joined  by  the  father  eight  and  a  half  months 
later  on  New  Year's  Day,  1901.  In  1903  Dr.  Mary  returned  to  her  work  in 
Midnapore,  India.  She  and  Miss  Coombs  lived  together  in  Henderson  Home 
till  1910,  when  Dr.  Mary,  much  to  the  dismay  of  her  friends  in  Midnapore, 
was  transferred  to  Balasore.  There  was  much  sickness  in  Sinclair  Orphanage 
and  medical  assistance  was  needed.     Miss  Barnes,  and  then  Miss  Coe  were 


Miss   Lavina   C.    Coombs 


104        The  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society 


Superintendents  during  this  time.  The  latter  learned  much  of  medicine 
from  Dr.  Mary  so  that  she  was  able  to  care  for  the  eighty  girls  alone, 
when  in   1912,  after  much  trouble  with  an  injured  knee,  Dr.  Mary  came 

home  on  crutches.  She  was  ac- 
companied by  Miss  Coombs.  After 
obtaining  helpful  treatment  for  her 
knee,  Dr.  Mary  studied  Bible  and 
medicine  in  New  York  City. 

In  November  1Q14,  in  the  midst 
of  war  conditions,  she  returned  to 
India.  She  was  stationed  now  at 
Santipore,  thirty-fiive  miles  north 
of  Balasore,  and  seven  miles  from 
the  railroad.  Here  Miss  Butts 
lived  alone  with  many  demands  on 
her  time  and  strength.  After  a 
year  spent  with  Miss  Butts,  Dr. 
Mary  returned  to  Balasore  to  as- 
sume charge  of  Sinclair  Orphanage 
from  Miss  Coe  who  was  leaving  on 
furlough.  Her  companions  in  the 
home  during  this  term,  —  for  vary- 
ing periods,  —  were  Miss  Gowen, 
Miss  Porter,  Miss  Coombs,  and 
Miss  Doe.  After  a  very  successful 
and  busy  term  of  service,  and  on  the  return  of  Miss  Coe  to  care  for  the  Or- 
phanage flock,  Dr.  Mary  came  home  in  February  1921.  With  her  came 
Khanto  Bala  Rai  of  Midnapore,  daughter  of  Sachidananda  Rai,  as  repre- 
sentative of  our  Bengal-Orissa  field  to  the  W.  A.  B.  F.  M.  S.  Tubilee. 


Dr.    Mary    W.    Bacheler 


JULIA    PHILLIPS    BURKHOLDER 

Julia  Phillips  Burkholder,  the  third  daughter  of  Rev.  Jeremiah 
and  Hannah  Phillips,  was  born  in  Jellasore,  India,  June  5,  1845.  She,  with 
her  mother  and  seven  other  children  of  the  family,  came  to  America  in  May 
1854.  Her  father  remained  at  his  post  a  year  after  the  family  left.  They 
first   lived   in  New   Hampton,   N.  -H.     After   her   father   returned   to   this 


Our  India  Missionaries  105 

country  the  family  moved  to  New  York  state.  While  there  her  father 
baptized  her  and  her  two  oldest  sisters  March  1858.  At  the  age  of  sixteen 
years,  she  was  sent  to  Hillsdale  College  where  she  remained  for  two  years. 
In  December  of  1864,  she  accompanied  her  parents,  together  with  James  L. 
Phillips  and  wife  and  her  sister  Ida,  then  a  child  of  eight  years  of  age,  to 
India.  In  those  early  days  the  voyage  was  made  in  sailing  vessels  round  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope.  Three  days  out  from  Boston  a  fearful  gale  struck 
them.  The  captain  was  swept  overboard.  They  did  not  reach  Calcutta 
until  June,  having  been  six  months  in  making  the  voyage  from  Boston  to 
Calcutta. 

Arriving  on  the  field  the  family  were  stationed  in  Midnapore.  Mrs. 
James  Phillips  and  Mrs.  Burkholder  were  the  first  to  begin  Zenana  work 
in  our  mission.  After  ten  years  of  service  she  returned  to  this  country 
on  her  first  furlough.  In  1878  she  with  her  brother  and  family  again 
returned  to  India.  The  following  year  she  was  married  to  Dr.  T.  W.  Burk- 
holder, who  having  been  assigned  to  the  Santal  work,  they  moved  to 
Bhimpore,  which  was  their  home  for  more  than  twenty  years.  Here  Mrs. 
Burkholder  had  the  charge  of  the  boys'  and  girls'  orphanages  and  aided  in 
many  ways  to  build  up  the  church  and  Christian  community.  Five  little 
ones  were  given  to  them,  two  of  whom  died  in  infancy. 

After  their  second  furlough.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Burkholder  were  sent  to 
Balasore  where  they  had  the  care  of  the  Boys'  Orphanage  and  the  Boys' 
High  School.  In  November,  1903,  Dr.  Burkholder  died,  and  Mrs.  Burk- 
holder was  left  in  charge  of  the  orphanage  and  work  shop.  Afterwards  she 
was  sent  to  care  for  the  girls  in  Sinclair  Ophanage. 

In  1909  she  took  her  third  furlough  in  America,  but  was  asked  to  re- 
turn to  the  field  to  fill  a  vacancy.  Her  last  voyage  to  India  was  in  1911, 
this  time  remaining  only  five  years.  She  arrived  in  San  Francisco,  April 
1917.  Including  her  furloughs  and  work  among  the  home  churches  she 
has  spent  52  years  in  the  blessed  service.  She  always  considered  these 
years  a  high  privilege  granted  her  by  the  Lord  of  the  harvest. 

It  was  the  joy  of  her  life  to  be  able  to  travel  in  the  rural  districts  of 
India,  visiting  one  village  after  another,  attending  the  large  markets,  dis- 
tributing tracts  and  selling  gospels.  While  busy  attending  to  the  duties  of 
the  station,  she  was  enabled  to  prepare  two  small  Bible  study  books  which 
were  very  useful  in  the  day  schools;  also  three  tracts  which  were  scattered 
broadcast  in  the  outlying  district.     She  was  the  first  person  who  was  used 


io6        The  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society 

of  the  Master  to  bring  light  to  the  soul  of  Chundra  Lela,  who  had  been 
groping  for  years  in  darkness  and  hungering  for  the  bread  of  life.  Blessed 
privilege!     Blessed  service!  " 

Mrs.  Burkholder  was  not  a  missionary  of  our  Board,  but  to  an  unusual 
extent  she  performed  the  duties  of  a  missionary  of  the  Woman's  Board. 
Home  on  her  first  furlough,  she  was  released  by  the  Conference  Board  to 
travel  for  the  Woman's  Board,  in  the  interest  of  the  Woman's  magazine, 
The  Missionary  Helper,  just  then  being  launched.  At  one  time  she  served 
our  Society  in  India  as  superintendent  of  Sinclair  Orphanage.  During 
her  last  term  she  lived  in  our  Henderson  Home  and  cared  for  our  Zenana 
and  Bible  Women's  work.  Except  her  mother,  who  gave  sixty-seven  years 
to  India,  Mrs.  Burkholder  has  served  as  missionary  more  years  than  any 
other  woman  on  our  field. 

Dr.  Jeremiah  Phillips  and  wife  gave  six  children  and  three  grand- 
children to  India,  and  including  sons-in-law  and  daughters-in-law  an 
aggregate  of  service  of  over  three  hundred  years  was  rendered  by  the  Phillips 
family. 

IDA    ORISSA    PHILLIPS 

When  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Jeremiah  Phillips  decided  —  in  1864  —  that  it 
was  their  duty  and  privilege  to  return  to  India  for  another  term  of  ser- 
vice, it  was  thought  best  to  leave  all  the  children  in  this  country  to  be 
educated,  with  the  exception  of  Julia,  now  Mrs.  Burkholder,  who  returned 
with  them  for  service. 

Following  this  plan  they  went  as  far  as  Boston,  the  port  of  sailing; 
but  friends  about  them  became  convinced  that  the  awful  strain  of  separa- 
tion was  greater  than  Mrs.  Phillips  could  endure  with  safety,  and  persuaded 
them  to  send  back  to  Illinois  for  the  youngest,  Ida  Orissa,  at  that  time 
eight  years  of  age.  (Born  at  Whitestown,  N.  Y.,  July  24,  1856.)  During 
her  stay  of  seven  years  she  was  an  unspeakable  comfort  to  her  parents, 
while  she  came  to  know  the  natives  as  friends,  and  the  language  as  one 
of  themselves. 

From  Hillsdale  College  she  was  graduated  in  the  class  of  1877,  being 
one  of  its  youngest  members.  During  her  years  of  study  she  was  an  eager 
and  efficient  worker  in  the  College  church,  leaving  a  marked  impress  of 
her  strong  and  lovable  character  upon  the  girls  of  her  Sunday  School 
Class,  one  of  them.  Miss  Emilie  C.  Barnes,  being  won  to  missionary  service 
through  her  influence. 


Our  India  Missionaries 


10' 


Returning  promptly  to  India  after  her  graduation,  Ida's  thorough 
familiarity  with  the  people,  their  habits  of  thought  and  life,  as  well  as 
their  language,  enabled  her  immediately  to  take  a  responsible  position  in 
the  work.     She  seemed  eminently  qualified  for  the  many-sided  life  that  fell 


Miss   Emelie   E.  Barnes 


to  her  lot  during  the  following  decade.  Whether  dealing  with  men,  women, 
young  people  or  children;  high  or  low,  coolies  or  pundits,  her  sympathetic 
nature  seemed  to  make  her,  in  an  unusual  degree,  one  of  themselves;  yet 
when  need  arose  she  exercised  an  authority  that  commanded  instant  respect 
and  obedience,  and  to  this  day  the  name  of  "  Ida  Missibaba  "  is  recalled  with 
loving  praise  and  tender  regret.    She  came  home  in  1887. 


io8        The  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society 

To  the  grief  of  her  friends  and  the  loss  of  the  work  she  loved,  she 
did  not  live  to  return  for  a  second  term,  but  passed  away  suddenly  July  5, 
1889,  while  at  the  home  of.  her  sister,  Mrs.  Marshall,  in  Minnesota,  and  now 
her  body  rests  with  that  of  her  sister.  Dr.  Nellie,  in  Oak  Grove  Cemetery, 
at  Hillsdale,  beside  that  of  her  father.  At  a  memorial  service  held  for  her 
in  India,  a  Christian  Indian  said,  "  Whenever  sickness  came,  or  trouble,  or 
disgrace,  or  death,  there  was  Ida,  like  an  angel  of  God,  with  kind  words 
and  helping  hands.  If  I  should  ask  you  who  are  here,  who  among  you  has 
Ida  helped,  or  comforted,  or  taught,  you  would  each  one  answer,  '  She  has 
helped  me.'  " 

HARRIET   PRESTON    PHILLIPS 

Harriet  Preston  Phillips,  daughter  of  Dr.  Jeremiah  and  Hannah 
C.  Phillips,  was  born  in  Jellasore,  India,  March  11,  1848.  She  was  graduated 
from  Hillsdale  College  in  1868,  and  taught  for  nine  years  in  the  city  schools 
of  Chicago,  that  she  might  help  forward  the  education  of  her  younger 
sisters.  In  the  public  schools,  as  well  as  in  the  Sunday  School  that  she 
taught,  she  was  as  truly  a  missionary  as  in  her  later  life  in  India,  finding 
many  opportunities  to  impress  her  pupils  religiously,  and  often  to  pray 
with  them  apart.  Religion  with  her  was  not  only  to  be  professed  but  to  be 
lived.  Her  eminent  success  as  a  teacher  was  largely  due  to  her  qualities  of 
punctuality,  self-reliance,  and  integrity  in  word  and  deed,  and  to  honest,  hard 
work.  She  hungered  for  knowledge.  The  milliner's  windows  held  no  temp- 
tations for  her  but  she  longed  for  money  to  buy  books.  She  would  turn 
an  old  dress  and  wear  it  another  year  that  she  might  attend  a  course  of 
lectures.  Civilization  meant  much  to  her.  She  did  not  want  to  go  to 
India.  It  was  only  after  a  long  struggle,  intense  at  the  last,  that  she  became 
willing  to  go  wherever  God  wanted  her.  Once  the  decision  was  made  she 
never  looked  backward.  "  Unswerving  devotion  to  duty  as  the  Lord 
enabled  her  to  see  her  duty  "  was  her  watchword.  She  gave  up  a  fine  posi- 
tion, a  large  salary,  a  place  in  society,  and  every  promise  for  an  eminent 
future  here. 

In  1878  Miss  Phillips  sailed  for  India.  At  first  she  taught  in  the  Bible 
School,  which  was  under  the  superintendence  of  her  brother  James.  In 
April  1882,  on  the  death  of  Miss  Crawford  at  Jellasore,  Miss  Phillips  moved 
there.  But  in  November  of  that  year  she  was  transferred  to  Balasore  for 
Zenana  work,  adding  to  this  church  and  community  interests.    This  neces- 


Our  India  Missionaries  109 

sitated  the  learning  of  the  Orissa  language.  After  furlough  she  devoted  her- 
self more  exclusively  to  educational  work,  which  was  her  forte.  She  organized 
daily  classes  for  the  young  people  and  women  of  the  Christian  villages,  and 
supervised  the  Christian  and  Hindu  girls'  schools.  It  was  through  her  efforts 
that  kindergartens  were  started  in  our  field  and  the  kindergarten  training 


Miss   Sadie  E.    Gowen    (see  page  ii8) 

school  in  Balasore.  In  1895  she  was  elected  President  of  the  W.  C.  T.  U. 
for  Orissa,  and  a  little  later  editor  of  "  The  White  Ribbon  for  Asia."  In 
the  midst  of  her  busy  life  came  another  call,  and  she  relinquished  her 
loved  work  in  India  to  become  the  wife  of  Irving  L.  Stone  of  Battle  Creek, 
Michigan,  in  1904.  Mr.  Stone  went  to  India  for  his  bride  and  the  wedding 
was  an  event  in  mission  annals. 


no        The  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society 

Miss  Phillips  was  the  missionary  of  the  women  and  young  people  of 
Rhode  Island,  which  state  was  the  first  to  assume  the  support  of  a  mission- 
ary under  the  F.  B.  W.  M.  S. 


DORCAS    FOLSOM    SMITH 

Dorcas  Folsom  Smith,  daughter  of  Rev.  Moses  Folsom,  was  born  in 
Williamstown,  Vt.  July  20,  1827.  She  became  a  Christian  in  1839.  Her 
high  school  education  was  received  in  Manchester,  N.  H.  Her  earliest 
memories  are  of  her  father's  prayers  for  the  slave  and  the  heathen.  From 
these  prayers  and  the  reading  of  the  hfe  of  Harriet  Newell  date  her  first 
desires  to  become  a  missionary.  A  country  parish  and  a  large  family  fur- 
nished limited  opportunity  for  the  fulfillment  of  her  ambition  for  an  edu- 
cation. When  old  enough  to  earn  her  way,  she  worked  and  went  to  school 
by  turns,  her  uppermost  thought,  cherished  in  secret,  being  to  prepare 
herself  to  be  a  missionary. 

In  1852  she  married  Rev.  B.  B.  Smith  of  Sandwich,  N.  H.,  and  on 
August  14  of  the  same  year  sailed  for  India.  At  his  death  in  1872  she 
nobly  continued  alone  their  work  in  Balasore.  After  a  furlough  she  re- 
turned in  1882  to  India,  under  appointment  of  our  Woman's  Board,  and 
took  the  position  made  vacant  by  the  death  of  Miss  Crawford,  Superin- 
tendent of  Sinclair  Orphanage  at  Jellasore.  The  prevalence  of  malarial  fever 
had,  made  it  unwise  to  continue  at  Jellasore,  so  after  two  years,  Mrs.  Smith 
moved  the  girls  to  Balasore.  By  her  foresight,  quick  action  and  large 
faith,  she  was  instrumental  in  securing  to  the  F.  B.  W.  M.  S.  the  present 
Sinclair  Orphanage  property. 

Mrs.  Smith  came  home  in  1891  but  returned  to  her  India  girls  in  1893. 
She  was  untiring  in  her  efforts  to  form  strong,  pure  characters  in  her  girls, 
and  to  build  up  in  Balasore  a  thoroughly  good  school  for  Christian  girls. 
Conscious  of  her  own  early  lack  of  education,  she  pursued  in  her  later  years 
in  India,  the  prescribed  reading  of  the  four-year  C.  L.  S.  C.  course  and  won 
her  diploma.  She  did  a  work  for  the  education  of  the  Christian  girls  in 
Orissa  that  elicited  the  hearty  and  repeated  appreciation  of  the  leading 
Indian  gentlemen.  After  her  death  one  of  these  Hindu  gentlemen  placed  at 
interest  a  sum  of  money,  the  income  of  which  is  to  be  used  annually  for  a 
silvei*  medal  to  be  awarded  to  the  girl  who  passes  highest  in  the  Government 
Scholarship  examinations  for  middle  vernacular  schools  in  Balasore  District. 


Our  India  Missionaries  iii 

On  this  medal,  valued  at  about  seven  dollars,  is  inscribed  the  name  of  the 
winner,  the  benevolent  donor  and  preeminently  these  words,  "  Dorcas  Smith 
Memorial."  This  fund  is  in  the  hands  of  the  municipal  government,  and  the 
medal  is  given  on  application  to  the  city  magistrate.  Each  girl  who  wins 
the  medal  receives  also,  from  the  Government,  two  dollars  per  month  for 
three  years,  a  sum  nearly  sufficient  for  high  school  or  normal  training.  A 
score  of  our  Balasore  girls  and  women  are  the 
proud  possessors  of  these  medals. 

Mrs.  Smith's  position  as  chairman  of  the  Church 
Committee,  and  as  general  adviser  in  the  Christian 
community  admitted  of  large  usefulness.  As  a 
business  woman  she  was  far-seeing,  clear-headed, 
and  loyal  to  the  interests  of  the  mission.  She  had 
positive  convictions,  great  executive  ability,  and 
strong  determination.  While  preparing  to  come 
home  on  furlough,  making  a  last  visit  to  her 
friends,    she    was    stricken    with    pneumonia    and  Miss   Amy    B.    Coe 

died   in   Calcutta   on   February    11,    1899,    at   the 

home  and  school  presided  over  by  Miss  Sarah  Gardner.  Her  body  was  laid 
to  rest  in  Circular  Road  Cemetery,  Calcutta.  Mrs.  Smith  was  the  missionary 
of  the  Free  Baptist  women  of  her  native  state  of  Vermont  from  whom  she 
received  a  most  loyal  support. 

LAVINA    CARR    COOMBS 

Lavina  Carr  Coombs,  daughter  of  Capt.  David  and  Sarah  Coombs, 
was  born  in  West  Bowdoin,  Me.,  November  28,  1849.  Lavina  was  the 
youngest  of  nine  children,  all  of  whom,  growing  up  in  a  devout  Christian 
home,  early  became  Christians.  She  received  her  education  at  Litchfield 
Academy  1864-66,  and  the  Farmington  Normal  School  1872-73.  She  then 
taught  in  the  schools  of  Maine  until  she  went  to  India.  In  May  1863  she 
was  baptized  and  joined  the  West  Bowdoin  Church.  She  soon  became  a 
teacher  in  the  Sunday  school,  organized  the  first  Children's  Mission  Band 
in  the  church,  and  was  made  secretary  of  the  Woman's  Missionary  Auxiliary 
when  it  was  organized  in  the  church  in  1872,  preceeding  the  National 
Society.  In  a  heart-to-heart  talk  with  a  friend  about  the  things  of  the 
Kingdom,  Miss  Coombs  exclaimed,  "  Why  don't  more  people  want  to  be 


112         The  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society 

missionaries?"  "Why  don't  you,"  was  the  rejoinder.  And  the  answer 
promptly  came,  "  Why,  I  want  to  go,  if  I  were  only  fitted!  If  the  Woman's 
Board  will  send  me,  I  will  go."  And  in  less  than  a  year  Miss  Coombs  was 
on  her  way  to  India  alone,  sailing  November  11,  1882.  The  date  of  her 
arrival  not  being  known  in  India  in  advance,  she  was  not  met,  and  so  pro- 
ceeded alone  to  Midnapore,  where  for  the  first  year  she  lived  alone  in  the 
Bacheler  house.  For  a  number  of  years  Miss  Coombs  and  Miss  Butts  lived 
together  in  Henderson  Home.  In  recent  years  she  has  lived  in  Sinclair 
Orphanage  Bungalow.  Both  Midnapore  and  Balasore  have  shared  her 
services.  She  has  been  an  all  round  missionary,  doing  all  kinds  of  service 
that  a  woman  may  do.  In  Midnapore  her  work  was  the  charge  of  the 
ragged  schools,  the  Zenanas,  and  teaching  the  women's  classes  in  the  Bible 
School.  In  Balasore  she  has  by  turns  assisted  and  superintended  in  the 
Orphanage,  led  Bible  classes,  women's  prayer  meetings  and  industrial  classes. 
Evangelistic  work  is  her  special  delight,  but  she  adapts  herself  willingly  to 
the  uppermost  need.  Prompt  and  energetic,  thorough  and  tireless,  ever 
cheerful  is  this  most  valuable  of  missionaries. 


ELLA    MAY    BUTTS 

Ella  May  Butts,  daughter  of  Rev.  E.  H.  and  Delphina  P.  Butts, 
was  born  in  New  Portland,  Me.,  February  22,  1852,  and  became  a  Christian 
in  1870.  Following  her  graduation  from  the  Lewiston  High  School  in  186Q 
she  taught  for  three  years  in  the  pubhc  schools  of  Lewiston.  These  latter 
years  she  lived  in  the  home  of  Prof.  B.  F.  Hayes  and  wife.  With  them  in 
1873  she  sailed  for  Europe  spending  two  years  in  the  study  of  languages. 
Immediately  on  her  return  Miss  Butts  was  called  to  teach  French  and  Ger- 
man at  New  Hampton  Institute.  Here  she  remained  eleven  years,  the 
last  three  as  lady  principal.  How  acceptably  she  served  may  be  judged 
from  the  words  of  the  Principal  of  the  Institute,  Prof.  Meservey,  "  She 
was  a  thorough,  faithful,  helpful,  painstaking,  persevering,  unselfish, 
enthusiastic,  conscientious,  teacher.  Her  influence  was  always  womanly  and 
Christian.  She  was  thoroughly  loyal  to  the  school,  the  denomination  and 
the  Saviour.  We  were  very  sorry  to  accept  her  resignation,  but  concluded 
she  had  a  higher  call."  The  "  Higher  call  "  was  to  leave  a  place  which  many 
a  woman  would  be  glad  to  occupy  and  go  where  so  few  are  willing  to  go, 
and  where  the  need  of  Christian  workers  is  so  great.    When  first  approached 


Our  India  Missionaries 


113 


with  the  suggestion  she  at  once  replied  in  the  negative,  saying,  "  I  have 
never  thought  I  had  a  call  to  India."  But  on  consideration  she  said, 
"  When  I  gave  my  allegiance  to  Christ  it  was  to  serve  him  when  and  where 
I  was  most  needed.  If  India  needs  me  most  I  am  willing  to  go  there." 
In  this  she  had  the  cordial  approval  of  her  father,  who  had  long  been  inter- 
ested in  missions,  and  was  now  glad 
he  had  a  daughter  ready  to  give  her- 
self to  this  service. 

Miss  Butts  went  to  India  in  1886  as 
a  teacher  in  the  Midnapore  Bible 
School;  that  is,  she  had  charge  of  the 
education  of  the  wives  of  the  married 
Bible-school  students.  Dr.  Bacheler 
said,  "  Her  scholarship  was  of  a  su- 
perior order,  and  she  early  acquired  a 
critical  knowledge  of  the  native  lan- 
guage." Mrs.  Bacheler  said,  "  Miss 
Butts  is  full  of  enthusiasm  in  the 
work,  in  all  kinds  of  work."  Refined 
and  cultured,  she  had  the  remarkable 
faculty  of  adapting  herself  to  the 
humblest  task.  She  had  a  command 
of  scientific  Bengali  and  of  native 
legends  that  was  unusual.  It  was  a 
delight  to  her  colleagues  to  get  out 
with  her  under  the  evening  heavens, 
and  be  told  the  Indian  names  and 
legends  of  the  stars,  or  to  snatch  a 
moment  at  siesta  when  instead  of  rest- 
ing she  would  recount  the  traditions 
and  romances  of  the  Indian  people. 
By  bent  and  preparation  she  was  pre- 
eminently an  educational  woman,  yet  for  a  number  of  years  she  lived 
alone  in  the  isolated  jungle  village  of  Santipore,  giving  of  her  best,  as  an 
all-round  station  worker.  Well  might  the  Indian  pastor  say,  "  She  has 
made  herself  weak  and  poor  for  us."  After  a  long  life  of  rare  service, 
when  in  the  midst  of  preparation  to  come  home,  a  malignant  disease  was 


Miss    Ruth    Daniels 


114        The  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society 

discovered  that  required  immediate  attention.  Dr.  Mary  Bacheler  accom- 
panied her  to  the  Calcutta  hospital  where  on  March  1,  1917,  she  passed 
to  the  Home-land  of  the  Soul.  To  the  Indian  people,  who  loved  and 
mourn  her,  she  is  known  as  "  Our  Lady  of  Mercies."  Her  body  was  laid 
to  rest  in  the  Scotch  cemetery,  Calcutta.  In  America,  the  Free  Baptist 
women  of  New  Hampshire  were  her  loyal  supporters. 


SARAH    E.    ACER 

Mrs.  S.  E.  Acer,  an  English  woman,  gave  thirty  years  of  service  to 
our  mission.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  George  Ager,  residents  of  India,  were  bap- 
tized by  Dr.  Coldren  at  Chambali  and  soon  after  joined  the  staff  of  our 
mission.  Mr.  Ager  retired  in  1902  but  Mrs.  Ager  was  continued  by  our 
Woman's  Board  until  her  death,  December  10,  1918.  She  served  in  sev- 
eral of  our  stations,  perhaps  the  longest  in  Midnapore.  One  of  her  fellow- 
missionaries  said  of  her,  "  She  possessed  a  most  devout  and  consecrated 
spirit,  always  willing  to  take  the  hardest  place,  and  although  at  times  suf- 
fering much,  she  never  complained  nor  slighted  in  the  least  the  work  for 
which  she  was  responsible.  She  had  the  rare  art  of  saying  and  doing  the 
right  thing  in  the  most  kind  and  considerate  way." 


MRS.    ANNA    R.    MINER 

Mrs.  Ann.\  R.  Miner,  wife  of  the  Rev.  Melville  C.  Miner  of  Ohio, 
a  missionary  of  the  General  Conference  Board,  was  transferred  by  that 
Board  to  the  Woman's  Society  for  service  from  1890  to  1896  and  was 
supported  by  the  women  of  Iowa. 


EMILIE    E.    BARNES 

Emilie  E.  Barnes,  the  Children's  Missionary,  was  born  in  Twicken- 
hani,  England.  She  was  early  orphaned  and  when  about  ten  came  to  this 
country  with  an  aunt  and  brother.  In  Hillsdale,  Mich.,  she  was  a  member 
of  Miss  Ida  Phillips's  Sunday  School  class.  It  was  through  Miss  Phillips's 
influence  that  she  became  a  Christian  and  united  in  1875  with  the  Hills- 
dale, Mich.,  Free  Baptist  Church. 

By  patient  and  persistent  self-help  she  graduated  from  the  high  school, 


Our  India  Missionaries 


115 


and  then  studied  in  Hillsdale  College.  While  Mr.  Wilder  of  the  Student 
Volunteer  Movement  was  in  Hillsdale  in  1887,  she  publicly  pledged  herself 
to  the  work  which  she  had  been  prayerfully  considering  in  secret.  Two 
years  were  now  spent  in  Moody  Bible  Institute.  Then  her  invalid  brother 
was  cared  for  until  his  release  came  in  February,  1892.  The  summer 
following  she  travelled  in  Illinois, 
organizing  women's  auxiliaries  and 
interesting  churches  in  missions. 

October,  1893,  Miss  Barnes  be- 
came an  appointee  of  the  F.  B.  W. 
M.  S.  as  Children's  Missionary,  to 
sail  at  once.  Especially  successful  in 
leading  souls  to  Christ  she  inclines 
by  choice  to  evangelistic  work  but 
turns  willingly  to  other  tasks  when 
the  need  calls.  In  India,  Miss  Barnes 
lived  first  in  Balasore  with  Mrs. 
Smith  in  the  Sinclair  bungalow-. 
Then  she  went  to  Bhadrak  where  she 
was  the  only  white  woman,  and  had 
the  oversight  of  all  the  Christian 
work  carried  on  in  that  station. 
In  1902,  Miss  Barnes  became  Su- 
perintendent  of   Sinclair  Orphanage, 

with  its  fifty  girls,  following  Miss  Gaunce.  Her  big  heart  of  love  won  her 
way  with  the  girls.  Out  of  her  personal  funds  she  was  educating  at  this 
time  a  boy  and  a  girl  for  service  among  their  people. 

In  February  1904  she  came  to  America  on  furlough,  returning  in  October 
1906.  She  now  did  evangelistic  work  in  Jellasore  and  had  charge  of  the 
various  activities,  Bible  Women  and  Zenana  teachers,  schools  and  village 
work.  In  1910,  after  about  three  years  at  Jellasore,  she  was  called  the 
second  time  to  take  charge  of  Sinclair  Orphanage,  at  this  time  housing 
sixty-five  girls.  More  dormitory  rooms  having  been  provided,  there  were 
in  1913  seventy-five  girls  in  the  home.  That  year  Miss  Barnes  came  home 
to  America  in  very  poor  health. 

On  November  2,  1915,  her  health  somewhat  restored  and  her  spirit 
undaunted,  she  sailed  for  India  from  Seattle  in  company  with  Miss  Coombs. 


Miss  Amorette  Porter 


ii6        The  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society 

The  Reference  Committee,  heeding  the  request  of  the  Jellasore  Christians 
located  Miss  Barnes  again  at  Jellasore.  Here  she  is  all  things  to  all  kinds 
of  people  with  many  kinds  of  needs.  By  smiles  and  words  Miss  Barnes  ex- 
presses her  Christian  optimism  and  faith.  Every  letter  or  post-card  home 
ends  with  "  Pray  for  us."' 


MARY    SOPHIA    PHILLIPS 

Mary*  Sophia  Phillips,  daughter  of  Dr.  James  L.  and  Mary  R. 
(Sayles)  Phillips  of  Pascoag,  R.  I.,  and  granddaughter  of  Jeremiah  Phillips, 
was  born  in  India  in  1869.  Her  Indian  friends  gave  her  the  name  of 
"  Beebee "  meaning  "  little  lady,"'  and  by  this  she  is  generally  known. 
When  Beebee  was  quite  young  her  mother  came  to  America  with  four 
children  to  be  educated.  Several  years  were  spent  in  Rhode  Island  and 
Ohio.  Beebee  became  a  student  successively  at  Oberlin  and  Wellesley 
Colleges,  and  later  graduated  from  the  Kindergarten  Training  School  of 
Philadelphia. 

Dr.  and  Mrs.  Phillips  had  returned  to  India,  he  as  General  Sunday- 
School  Secretary  for  all  India,  and  Mrs.  Phillips  as  President  of  the  Woman's 
Christian  Temperance  Union  of  India.  Dr.  Phillips  loved  children  and  re- 
joiced in  his  daughter's  prospective  career,  saying,  "  And  now  my  child 
is  coming  out  as  the  children's  missionary  for  Rhode  Island  to  her  own 
India." 

She  sailed  in  the  autumn  of  1895  with  Miss  Coombs  for  India.  On 
December  28,  1896,  she  formally  opened  the  Rhode  Island  Kindergarten  with 
sixteen  children,  all  from  Christian  families.  She  greatly  appreciated  the 
"  baby  organ  "  given  her  by  the  C.  E.  Society  of  the  Roger  Williams  Church, 
Providence,  R.  I.  Her  aunt.  Miss  Hattie  Phillips,  translated  for  her  a 
number  of  kindergarten  songs  into  Oriya.  All  promised  well  for  the  future 
of  the  Balasore  Kindergarten.  But  Cupid  is  as  busy  and  efficient  in  India 
as  in  America,  and  after  a  brief  year  of  service  Miss  Phillips  resigned  her 
work  to  her  aunt,  September  1897,  to  become  the  wife  of  Dr.  George  Howells, 
an  English  Baptist  Missionary  of  Cuttack.  Dr.  Howells  soon  after  became 
the  President  of  Serampore  College,  and  has  performed  a  notable  service 
for  this  historic  institution  founded  by  Carey. 


Our  India  Missionaries 


117 


SHIRLEY    HOLMES    SMITH 

Shirley  Holmes  Smith  was  born  in  Somerset,  Mich.,  May  17,  1870, 
into  a  home  where  Christ  was  honored  by  word  as  well  as  by  deed,  where 
Christian  missions  was  a  frequent  topic  of  conversation,  and  where  special 
honor  was  accorded  missionaries  from  over-seas.    It  is  no  wonder  then  that 


Miss   Elsie    Barnard 


she  should  confess  Christ  at  seven  years  of  age,  and  that  the  seed  of  mission 
interest  thus  early  planted  should  have  a  continuous  growth.  When  she 
was  about  eleven  her  pastor  and  his  wife  went  to  China  as  missionaries. 
Knowing  them  and  reading  their  letters  increased  her  interest.  "  It  was  in 
the  summer  of  1885,"  she  says,  "  that  I  took  up^  my  Bible,  just  before  going 
to  bed,  when  my  eyes  fell  on  the  words,  '  Come  over  into  Macedonia  and 


ii8        The  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society 

help  us!  '  It  came  to  me  as  a  call,  and  without  any  struggle  or  process  of 
reasoning,  I  knelt  by  my  bed  and  told  God  I  was  willing  to  go  as  a  foreign 
missionary  if  that  was  His  will."  While  in  Hillsdale  College  during  the 
visit  of  Mr.  Robert  Wilder  to  the  College,  Shirley  joined  the  Student 
Volunteer  Band.  She  was  president  of  the  College  Y.  W.  C.  A.,  and  re- 
ceived great  inspiration  from  attending  its  summer  assemblies  and  state 
conventions.  "  It  made  the  difference  "  she  says  "  between  doing  no  harm 
and  seeking  to  do  positive  good  to  others." 

On  graduating  in  1890  she  taught  for  one  year  in  Parker  College,  Winne- 
bago, Minn.,  then  in  the  fall  of  1891  accepted  the  position  as  State 
Y.  W.  C.  A.  Secretary  for  Wisconsin.  Under  appointment  of  the  F.  B.  W. 
M.  S.  as  a  missionary  to  Bengal-Orissa  she  entered  the  medical  department 
of  Michigan  University,  graduating  in  1900.  She  sailed  for  India  that  fall, 
and  was  located  at  Balasore,  living  in  the  Sinclair  bungalow.  A  building  on 
the  compound  was  fitted  up  as  a  dispensary,  and  here  she  treated  her  patients. 
For  half  a  year  while  Miss  Dawson  was  on  furlough  in  Australia  she 
served  as  Superintendent  of  the  Orphanage.  At  other  times  she  cared  for 
the  Zenana  work.  At  the  end  of  one  term  of  service,  March  20,  1908,  she 
was  married  to  Mr.  James  Thompson,  a  business  man  of  Calcutta. 

Dr.  Shirley  Smith  was  adopted  and  supported  by  the  Free  Baptist 
women  of  Vermont,  the  state  that  had  so  loyally  and  long  supported  Mrs. 
Dorcas  Smith 

SADIE    ELIZABETH    GOWEN 

Sadie  Elizabeth  Gowen  was  born  in  Troy,  Maine,  May  1878.  Her 
father  was  a  substantial  farmer,  and  her  early  environment  was  that  of  a 
Christian  home.  When  she  was  nine  her  mother  passed  to  the  higher  life, 
and  for  a  time  she  became  her  father's  housekeeper.  She  entered  Maine 
Central  Institute,  but  her  health  becoming  impaired  she  spent  three  years  in 
the  home  of  an  uncle  in  Portland.  While  there  she  was  baptized  by  Rev. 
Lewis  Malvern  and  united  with  the  Portland  Free  Baptist  Church.  Her 
interest  in  Foreign  Missions  was  kindled  through  the  reading  of  the  life  of 
Lavina  Crawford  of  Bengal-Orissa,  and  a  correspondence  with  our  mission- 
ary Miss  Emilie  Barnes. 

Miss  Gowen  returned  to  Maine  Central  Institute  at  Pittsfield,  Me., 
from  which  she  graduated  in  1903.  She  longed  for  a  course  in  College 
but  was  not  strong  enough  to  undertake  it.     Two  years  were  now  spent 


Our  India  Missionaries 


no 


in  teaching,  but  India  was  ever  the  goal  of  her  desire.  In  1905  she  was 
enabled  to  enter  the  Moody  Bible  Training  School  of  Chicago,  where  she 
joined  the  Student  Volunteer  Band.  She  was  naturally  inclined  to  evan- 
gelistic work,  but  at  the  expressed  wish  of  the  Board  that  she  train  as  a 
kindergarten  teacher,  she  became  able  to  say,  "  I  am  glad  I  am  going  to 
teach  the  little  children."  She  was  accepted  by  the  F.  B.  W.  M.  S.  in 
October  1907  as  a  missionary-elect 
for  India.  The  following  Decem- 
ber she  was  graduated  from  the 
Moody  School,  and  went  at  once  to 
to  the  Foltz  Institute  of  Herkimer, 
N.  Y.,  for  her  kindergarten  train- 
ing, and  finished  her  course  there 
in  June  1909.  While  there  she 
came  in  contact  with  girls  from 
India,  China,  and  Japan,  who  were 
the  product  of  foreign  mission 
work,  and  Miss  Gowen  said,  "  I 
should  be  compelled  to  believe  in 
foreign  missions  because  of  their 
lives,  if  for  no  other  reason." 

During  the  summers  of  1908  and 
1909  she  spoke  many  times  in  be- 
half of  India,  securing  pledges  for 
the  support  of  four  children  in 
Sinclair  Orphanage. 

Miss  Gowen  sailed  for  India 
October    1909    in    company    with 

Miss  Coe  and  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Kennan.  Both  Miss  Gowen  and  Miss  Coe  were 
located  at  Balasore,  and  liv^d  in  Sinclair  bungalow  where  Mrs.  Ager  was 
Superintendent  of  the  girls.  There  was  much  sickness  in  the  Home  just  at 
this  time  and  the  two  new  missionaries  were  busy  from  the  first,  night  and 
day,  nursing  the  girls.  In  June  1910,  on  the  field  only  six  months,  she  took 
over  the  charge  of  the  kindergarten  with  about  one  hundred  children  and 
ten  Indian  teachers. 

When  Miss  Coe  took  the  Orphanage,  the  Christian  Girls'  Schools  came 
to  Miss  Gowen,  later  the  Hindu  Girls'  Schools  and  again  the  Zenana  work 


Miss  Gladys  Doe 


120        The  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society 

of  Balasore.  This  last  gave  Miss  Gowen  opportunity  for  evangelistic  work 
and  was  her  special  delight.  The  number  of  missionaries  was  too  few  for 
the  work  to  be  done.  Because  of  this  Miss  Gowen  essayed  to  remain  a 
year  longer  than  her  term  to  tide  the  work  over  till  those  on  furlough  should 
return.  But  her  health  broke  down  in  the  middle  of  the  year  and  she  was 
obliged  to  hasten  away  to  America,  December  3,  1916.  Her  physical  con- 
dition proved  very  serious  but,  after  much  suffering  and  brave  wait- 
ing, at  the  end  of  five  years  in  the  homeland,  she  was  able  to 
pass  the  medical  examination  of  the  W.  A.  B.  F.  M.  S.  in  April,  1921, 
and  be  accepted  for  return  in  the  fall  of  that  year.  One  seldom 
sees  a  person  more  jubilant  than  was  she  at  this  verdict.  Miss  Gowen  has 
been  described  as  "  a  blond,  a  little  above  medium  height,  in  manner 
vivacious,  in  mentality  quick,  in  temperament  enthusiastic,  and  withal  deeply 
spiritual." 

During  her  first  term  she  was  the  Missionary  of  the  women  and  children 
of  Rhode  Island. 

AMY    BELLE    COE 

Amy  Belle  Coe  was  born  in  Cleveland,  Ohio,  Nov.  24,  1883.  When 
seven  years  of  age,  she  was  baptized  by  Dr.  0.  D.  Patch,  and  joined  the 
Scranton  Avenue  Free  Baptist  Church.  In  a  home  where  progress  in  missions 
was  eagerly  watched  and  discussed,  and  where  missionaries  were  often 
entertained,  she  early  became  interested  in  foreign  work,  particularly  in  our 
India  field.  She  says  that  Dr.  Coldren  was  responsible  for  her  first  resolu- 
tion sometime  to  go  to  India. 

After  completing  her  High  School  course  in  Cleveland,  in  1901,  she 
entered  Mt.  Holyoke  College,  and  the  family  moved  East,  settling  in 
Madison,  Conn.  In  her  Sophomore  year  she  became  a  Student  Volunteer. 
The  two  years  following  her  graduation  from  College,  in  1905,  were  spent 
in  Settlement  Work  in  New  Haven,  among  the  Italians,  and  in  New  York 
City,  among  the  Bohemians.  After  a  year  lived  in  the  delightful  circle  of  her 
home,  she  was  about  to  enter  home  mission  work  in  the  South,  when  there 
came  from  the  Board  a  definite  call  to  serve  in  India.  Learning  that  she 
would  be  needed  for  school  work,  she  spent  a  year  at  Teachers'  College, 
Columbia  University,  New  York.  In  October  1909,  she  sailed  with  Miss 
Gowen  for  India,  and  the  young  people  of  Ohio  adopted  her  as  their  mis- 
sionary.   Stationed  at  Balasore  she  soon  acquired  a  working  knowledge  of  the 


Our  India  Missionaries  121 

Oriya  language.  After  three  months  in  the  country  she  was  given  charge 
of  the  Girls'  School  then  in  the  Sinclair  compound.  When  Miss  Barnes 
was  obliged  to  leave  for  America,  in  1Q13,  the  charge  of  the  Orphanage 
devolved  upon  her,  and  was  her  work,  during  the  remainder  of  her  term. 
At  that  time,  it  numbered  eighty  girls.  As  other  missionaries  left  on  fur- 
lough, she  was  also  given  the  care  of  the  Widows'  Home,  the  Balasore  Bible 
women,  and  finally  the  supervision  of  the  womans'  work  at  Jellasore, 
twenty-five  miles  north,  which  she  visited  once  a  month. 

At  the  end  of  her  first  term,  which  was  filled  with  abundant  and  joyous 
service,  she  came  home  in  April  1916.  She  remained  in  this  country  longer 
than  is  usual,  as  it  seemed  necessary  for  her  to  be  within  call  of  her  home. 
Two  years  of  this  time,  she  taught  in  the  Normal  department  at  Storer 
College,  but  her  heart  was  continually  in  India.  In  tune  with  the  Master, 
her  spiritual  ear  was  keen  to  hear  his  call.  When  a  need  for  workers  be- 
came more  than  usually  urgent,  with  the  sanction  of  her  family,  she 
returned  in  February  1920,  for  an  emergency  three-year  term  of  service. 
The  program  of  her  first  term  was  repeated.  From  Miss  Amy  Porter  she 
took  the  Balasore  Girls'  Schools;  at  the  end  of  a  year  releasing  these  to 
Miss  Gladys  Doe  and  Mrs.  Rachael  Das  Bose,  and  receiving  from  Dr.  Mary 
Bachelor,  leaving  on  furlough,  her  former  work  of  Superintendent  of  the 
Girls'  Home. 

IDA    MARSHALL 

Ida  jNIarshall,  daughter  and  granddaughter  of  missionaries,  served 
one  term  on  the  field  where  her  grandparents  were  pioneers. 

She  was  born  in  Balasore,  India,  January  10,  1882.  When  eleven  years 
of  age  she  was  baptized  by  her  father.  While  her  family  were  resident  in 
Des  Moines,  Iowa,  she  attended  Drake  University,  graduating  in  1906,  adding 
to  the  scientific  course  a  year  of  medicine.  While  in  Des  Moines  she  be- 
came identified  with  the  Y.  W.  C.  A.  work  and  joined  the  Student  Volunteer 
Band.  For  several  years  she  taught  in  the  High  schools  of  Blackfoot,  Idaho, 
and  Salem,  Oregon. 

On  September  22,  1912,  she  was  married  to  Mr.  F.  B.  Holder  of  Turner, 
Oregon.  And  on  October  2,  1913,  four  months  after  the  tragic  death  of 
her  husband  her  little  daughter  Doris  was  born  destined  to  be  a  fourth 
generation  member  of  the  Phillips  family  in  India.  Now  that  home  ties 
were  broken  the  call  to  become  a  missionary  again  sounded  in  her  heart. 


12  2        The  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society 

Peculiarly  fitted  in  many  ways  for  such  a  position  she  was  accepted  by 
the  F.  B.  W.  M.  S.  and  with  baby  Doris  sailed  in  October  1914  for  Bengal- 
Orissa,  India.  She  was  stationed  at  Midnapore,  and  lived  in  the  home  with 
her  mother's  sister,  Julia  Phillips  Burkholder. 

When  her  aunt  came  home  in  1917  Mrs.  Holder  took  over  her  work, — 
the  charge  of  Bible  women  and  Zenana  teachers,  jungle  Sunday  schools  and 
the  woman's  sewing  society.  It  was  during  her  term  and  largely  through  her 
efforts  that  the  Woman's  Bible  Training  School  was  started  in  Midnapore. 
Part  of  her  time  was  given  to  teaching  in  this  school. 

Mrs.  Holder  proved  apt  with  the  language  and  an  efficient  worker.  She 
came  to  America  in  1918  with  little  Doris,  who  was  very  ill  with  fever. 
In  the  cooler  clime  of  Minnesota  she  recovered  health. 

Mrs.  Holder  and  Doris  were  supported  in  part  by  the  Free  Baptists  of 
Texas  and  in  part  by  the  Phillips  family. 

Mrs.  Holder  has  done  acceptable  deputation  work.  Through  her  in- 
fluence one  young  woman  gave  up  her  position  as  a  high  school  teacher  to 
accept  a  similar  position  in  Burma.  At  present  Mrs.  Holder  has  a  position 
in  the  high  school  at  Estacada,  Or.,  and  during  the  vacation  of  1921  is 
travelling  among  the  people  of  Texas  and  speaking  in  their  churches. 


AMORETTE    PORTER 

Amorette  Porter,  daughter  of  Dr.  Edwin  A.  and  Amoretta  E.  Porter 
of  Liberty,  Me.,  was  born  on  May  26,  1887.  When  Amy  —  as  she  is  called 
—  was  eight,  the  family  moved  to  Pittsfield  that  the  older  sister  and  she 
might  have  better  educational  advantages.  She  grew  up  in  an  ideal  home 
where  it  was  natural  to  be  a  Christian.  At  nine  years  of  age  she  united 
with  the  Pittsfield  Free  Baptist  Church. 

In  Maine  Central  Institute  she  became  acquainted  with  Miss  Sadie 
Gowen  and  others  interested  in  Missions.  It  was  at  this  time  that  she 
resolved  to  go  wherever  God  might  send  her  to  work  for  Him,  though  always 
in  thought  she  turned  toward  our  field  in  India.  She  was  graduated  as 
valedictorian  of  her  class  and  entered  Bates  College,  Lewiston,  Me.  Here 
she  counted  among  her  student  friends  Harold  Frost  and  Mabel  Schermer- 
horn,  already  enlisted  for  India.  She  was  graduated  in  1910,  as  a  Commence- 
ment Day  speaker,  winning  an  honor  in  languages.  For  a  year  she  taught 
English  and  history  at  Foxcroft  Academy,  two  years  at  Maine  Central  Insti- 


Our  India  Missionaries  123 

tute,  and  one  year  of  Latin  and  Greek  at  the  latter  institution.  "  Amy  has  a 
finely  trained  mind  and  her  thoughts  reach  the  inner  truth  of  whatsoever 
subject  engages  her."  Extremely  conscientious  she  gives  herself  in  whole- 
hearted devotion  to  her  tasks. 

Accepted  by  the  Board  she  sailed  for  India,  October,  1914.  And  with 
scant  and  interrupted  time  for  language  preparation  she  took  over  from 
Miss  Gowen  the  supervision  of  the  Balasore  Girls'  Schools.  As  time  went 
on  and  war  conditions  and  the  lack  of  recruits  threw  additional  work  upon 
the  missionaries  at  their  posts,  there  came  to  her  hands  four  Hindu 
girls'  schools,  the  Zenana  work  in  which  over  two  hundred  wives  were  being 
taught,  the  women's  evangelistic  work  in  Balasore,  and  the  lace  class  in 
Sinclair  Orphanage.  She  came  home  in  April,  1920,  and  is  with  her  parents 
in  Pittsfield,  Me.,  expecting  to  return  in  due  time  to  India. 


MABLE    RUTH   DANIELS 

Mable  Ruth  is  the  granddaughter  of  Hon.  Marshall  Reed  of  Mich- 
igan, and  "  Aunt  Julia,"  a  well-known  and  efficient  worker  in  the  Hillsdale 
Quarterly  Meeting.  Ruth  was  born  March  23,  1890,  at  Rome,  Lenawee 
Co.,  Michigan,  where  she  lived  until  nine  years  of  age.     Her  parents,  Jackson 

B.  and  Alice  Reed  Daniels,  then  moved  to  Onsted,  their  present  home. 

When  seven  years  old  Ruth  was  baptized  and  united  with  the  North 
Rome  Church.  About  this  time  a  share  in  the  salary  of  Miss  Barnes,  the 
Children's  Missionary,  was  subscribed  for  her  by  her  parents  and  she  kept 
this  up  till  her  high  school  days  earning  the  money  in  all  sorts  of  ways. 
At  thirteen  she  entered  the  Tecumseh  (Mich.)  High  School.  Her  Alma 
Mater  was  Hillsdale  College,  Mich.,  from  which  she  was  graduated  in  1912. 
It  was  in  her  sophomore  year  that  she  identified  herself  with  the  Student 
Volunteer  Band,  a  natural  outgrowth  of  the  trend  of  her  Hfe.  During  her 
senior  year  she  was  president  of  the  College  Y.  W.  C.  A.  For  two  years 
after  her  graduation  she  taught  Latin  and  English  in  the  Reading  (Mich.) 
High  School.  Here  she  organized  a  Bible  Study  Club  in  the  school,  was 
organist  in  the   First   Baptist   Church   and  superintendent   of   the   Junior 

C.  E.  Society. 

In  October,  1913  she  met  Miss  Emilie  Barnes,  on  furlough  from  India, 
and  heard  of  the  great  need  for  workers  in  our  field.  She  at  once  offered 
herself  to  our  F.  B.  W.  M.  S.,  was  examined  and  accepted,  and  sailed  in 


124        The  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society 

October,  1014  in  company  with  five  others  for  the  Bengal-Orissa  field. 
The  W.  M.  S.  of  Hillsdale  Quarterly  Meeting,  in  which  three  generations  of 
her  family  had  been  ardent  workers,  voted  to  adopt  her  as  their  missionary 
and  to  assume  her  entire  salary  for  her  term  of  service  in  India. 

Expecting  to  be  stationed  at  Balasore  she  studied  Oriya  on  the  way  out 
with  Dr.  Mary  Bacheler.  But  on  the  sitting  of  the  India  Committee  the 
decision  was  in  favor  of  Midnapore,  and  she  had  to  begin  anew  on  the 
BengaU  language.  In  spite  of  this  delay  and  the  fact  that  she  studied  under 
native  pundits  in  the  local  station,  she  did  two  years  language  work  in  a 
year  and  a  half  and  stood  number  one  in  the  Calcutta  Language  School 
examination.  She  lived  in  Henderson  Home  with  Mrs.  Burkholder  and 
Mrs.  Ida  Holder. 

Her  particular  work  was  educational,  supervising  the  schools  in  and 
about  Midnapore,  the  industrial  classes  in  lace  making  and  teaching  in  the 
Woman's  Bible  Training  School.  When  Mrs.  Holder  left  for  America  the 
care  of  her  Bible  and  Zenana  women  came  to  Miss  Daniels,  and  also,  from 
another  missionary,  oversight  of  twelve  village  boys'  schools.  After  a 
strenuous  term  of  service  she  came  home  on  furlough  in  February  1920. 
She  returned  to  India  in  October  of  this  year,  1921,  and  greatly  appreciates 
a  message  just  received  from  an  Indian  co-worker,  "  Midnapore  is  needing 
you  so  much  now,  for  when  you  come  back  to  us  you  will  be  no  longer  a 
foreigner  but  one  of  us,  and  that  makes  a  world  of  difference." 


OTHERS 

Miss  M.  Ethel  Dawson,  1903-1910,  from  Australia  and  Miss  Julia 
J.  Scott,  1893-1907,  from  Scotland  gave  excellent  service  to  our  Mission 
under  our  Woman's  Board. 

Miss  Jessie  Hooper,  1878-1891,  and  Miss  L.  E.  Gaunce,  1894-1904, 
missionaries  of  the  Free  Baptists  of  New  Brunswick,  served  with  our  mis- 
sionaries in  our  Field. 

Miss  Edna  C.  Wile,  1894-1898,  and  Miss  Clara  Goodrich,  1908- 
1910,  went  to  India  as  missionaries  of  our  Board  but  were  obliged,  because 
of  ill  health,  to  return  to  this  country  before  they  had  gotten  the  language 
or  entered  into  service. 


Our  India  Missionaries  125 

Gladys  E.  Doe  and  M.  Elsie  Barnard,  Free  Baptist  girls,  appointees 
of  the  W.  A.  B.  F.  INI.  S.,  sailed  for  India  in  the  late  summer  and  fall  of  191Q, 
and  are  in  active  service,  respectively  at  Balasore  and  Midnapore. 

Our  Woman's  Board  made  an  annual  appropriation  to  each  woman 
missionary  in  our  Field,  "  whether  of  the  General  Conference  Board  or 
the  Woman's  Board,  for  local  work  among  women  and  children,  also  for 
the  support  of  schools,  Zenana  teachers,  and  Bible  women." 

'  Tis   love    to   Jesus   bears   her   on. 

'  Tis  love   for  souls  that  fires  her  breast ; 
Beyond  the  cross  she  sees  the  crown, 
And  light  she  deems  of  all  the  rest 

Amos  Sutton 


CHAPTER   XIV 

Our  Indian  Helpers 

Where  the  graceful  bamboos  drooping  fall, 
And  the  sal  trees  grow  so  straight  and  tall 
Festooned  with  vines  and  flowers  blue, 
Ye  poor  and  blind,  we  seek  for  you. 

Harriet  Cummings  Phillips 

CHUNDRA   LELA 

JHUNDRA  LELA —  "  Plaything  of  the  Moonbeams  "  — Hindu 
Priestess  and  Christian  Evangelist,  known  throughout  India,  was 
the  most  remarkable  Indian  woman  in  our  Free  Baptist  Mission. 

Her  home  was  in  Nepal,  an  independent  kingdom  in  the  Himalayan 
Mountains.  Her  father  was  a  priest  in  the  King  of  Nepal's  palace.  She 
was  betrothed  at  seven,  widowed  two  years  later,  before  going  to  her  husband, 
thereby  forever  denied  marriage  and  motherhood.  When  thirteen  she  went 
with  her  father  on  the  pilgrimage  to  Puri,  some  twelve  hundred  miles,  where 
her  father  suddenly  died  of  cholera.  She  returned  with  the  pilgrims  to  her 
home.  But  hungry  for  peace  from  the  "  crime  of  widowhood,"  she  decided 
to  become  a  pilgrim.  With  the  gold  left  her  by  her  husband,  and  two  women 
companions  dressed  as  men,  —  both  of  whom  died  on  the  journey  leaving 
her  alone,  —  she  started  on  her  quest  for  God. 

After  years  of  long  wanderings  to  all  the  famous  shrines  of  India,  of 
extreme  self-torture,  and  of  still  unsatisfied  soul-longings,  she  came  to  Mid- 
napore  in  Bengal.  Here  she  heard  of  a  new  religion,  and  by  one  of  our 
Christian  girl  teachers  was  taken  to  the  white  woman  who  could  tell  her 
about  it.  This  woman  was  Miss  Julia  Phillips,  now  Mrs.  Burkholder.  We 
will  let  her  continue  the  story:  "  I  never  can  forget  the  intensity  of  feeling 
shown  in  Chundra  Lela's  face  as  she  sat  looking  intently  at  me  listening 
to  the  story  of  the  Cross.  Breaking  in  she  exclaimed,  '  Then  is  there  no 
hope  for  me?  Am  I  to  gain  nothing  for  all  my  journey  and  much  suffering?' 
I  replied,  '  Chundra  Lela,  there  is  but  one  Saviour  and  He  is  Jesus  Christ.' 

126 


Our  Indian  Helpers  127 

I  gave  her  a  New  Testament  and  she  went  away.  It  was  not  long  before  she 
decided  to  forsake  all  and  accept  Christ.  This  decision  meant  more  to  her 
than  we  can  realize.  Among  her  own  people  she  was  an  object  of  worship, 
the  dust  of  whose  feet  was  sacred,  a  religious  teacher,  a  temple  priestess, 
supported  by  her  devotees. 
In  becoming  a  Christian  she 
renounced  all  this  and  joined 
a  class  of  people  looked  upon 
as  outcasts.  But  she  never 
swerved  from  the  stand  she 
had  taken,  and  came  bringing 
her  idols  and  sacred  books, 
all  that  had  been  most  dear  to 
her,  and  laid  them  at  the 
Master's  feet.  She  was  bap- 
tized on  Aug.  6,  1871,  by  Dr. 
James  L.  Phillips  in  Mid- 
napore. 

From  teaching  and  worship- 
ing dumb  idols  she  began  at 
once  to  teach  and  preach 
Christ  to  her  former  disciples. 
She  could  read  and  write  two 
or  three  languages.  She  had 
a  remarkable  command  of 
words.  Her  prayers  were 
wonderful.  Very  early  one 
morning,  while  country  tour- 
ing, in  the  cold  season  we 
were  awakened  by  a  voice  not 
far  from  our  tent.  Stepping 
outside  we  found  her  praying 

for  all  classes  of  people  including  the  Queen  of  England  and  her  counsellors. 
Her  restless  and  self-reliant  nature  would  not  allow  her  to  sit  quietly  and 
be  cared  for.  She  would  take  a  bundle  of  gospels  and  tracts,  carrying 
them  on  her  head  and  be  gone  for  months.  When  these  were  disposed  of, 
back  she  would  come  for  more,     Wherever  she  could  make  herself  under- 


Chundra   Lela 


128        The  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society 

stood,  there  she  went,  stopping  at  one  mission  station  after  another,  going 
with  the  missionaries  into/  the  bazaar  and  preaching  as  none  but  a  converted 
Hindu,  with  the  fire  burning  within,  could  preach. 

Her  brother,  from  Nepal,  on  the  pilgrimage  to  Puri,  stopped  at  Midna- 
pore  to  see  Chundra  Lela.  He  heard  the  story  of  her  new-found  faith 
and  accepted  it  as  his  own.  Years  afterward  she  journeyed  to  her  far  home 
in  the  north.  Her  brother  was  slowly  dying.  He  wanted  to  be  baptized. 
There  was  no  one  to  do  it.  So  Chundra  Lela  did  it,  immersing  his  head  in 
water  —  he  was  too  weak  for  more  —  as  she  pronounced  the  sacred  words. 
She  stayed  by  to  see,  against  much  opposition,  that  his  body  had  a  Christian 
burial. 

Not  long  before  Chundra  Lela's  death  she  went  once  more  to  Puri  — 
this  time  as  a  follower  of  Jesus  Christ  instead  of  Krishna.  On  her  return 
she  rested  for  a  time  at  Balasore,  where  I  was.  She  was  anxious  to  go 
once  more  to  speak  to  the  people  here.  Seeing  how  frail  she  looked,  I 
remonstrated,  but  she  replied,  '  I  can  hire  a  cart  to  take  me  to  the  bazaar.' 
She  went. 

The  same  evening  she  came  to  our  house,  and  in  her  quiet  but  graphic 
manner,  told  me  of  a  wonderful  vision  she  had  had  before  she  forsook  her 
old  life  and  became  a  Christian.  She  said :  '  One  night  I  sat  alone  in  my 
room,  thinking  and  thinking,  trying  to  decide  which  was  the  true  way. 
Before  me  lay  the  Bible  and  the  Hindu  Shastras.  I  said  to  myself,  this 
tells  of  a  God  and  so  does  the  other.  This  tells  of  an  incarnation  and  so 
does  the  other,  which  is  the  truth?  I  want  to  see  God.  I  sat  and 
thought.  My  room  became  dark.  The  nearby  police  gong  struck  the 
hours  eight,  nine,  ten,  eleven  and  twelve.  Suddenly  my  room  was  flooded 
with  a  bright  light.  There  stood  Jesus  before  me.  Oh,  His  face  shone  so 
bright;  it  was  so  beautiful!  I  fell  at  his  feet  and  worshiped  Him.  He 
pointed  to  the  Bible  and  said,  "  Chundra  Lela,  that  is  the  way."  When  I 
raised  my  head  He  was  gone.  The  next  night  again  I  sat  alone  with  the 
two  books.  Again  I  heard  the  gong  strike  the  hours  eight,  nine,  ten,  eleven 
and  twelve,  and  lo,  again  the  bright  light  shone  and  again  Jesus  stood  before 
me.  Again  He  said,  "  That  is  the  way."  The  vision  was  so  sacred  to  me 
that  for  years  I  could  not  speak  of  it  to  anyone.  When  talking  with  the 
Hindus  they  would  ask  me,  "Have  you  seen  God?"  I  would  answer  with 
perfect  assurance;  "Yes,  I  have  seen  God!  "' 

The  same  evening  she  told  me  of  a  dream  she  had  on  one  of  her 


Our  Indian  Helpers  129 

tours.  In  those  days  the  Bengali  Bible  had  not  been  printed  in  a  small 
size,  but  was  a  large  bulky  book;  that  made  no  difference,  her  Bible  always 
went  with  her.  In  her  dream  Jesus  came  to  her  and  laying  His  hand  on  her 
head  said  '  Chundra  Lela,  always  keep  the  Bible  with  you.  It  will  be  your 
guard.'  She  added.  '  So  at  night  I  always  have  the  Bible  by  my  head.'  At 
the  close  of  the  talk  she  said,  '  Now  that  I  have  found  the  Saviour,  it  is 
the  one  great  desire  of  my  life  to  live  for,  serve  and  adore  Him." 

As  she  grew  less  able  to  travel  her  missionary  friends  wanted  to  build 
a  house  in  a  sheltered  mango  grove  where  she  might  spend  her  last  days  in 
quiet  and  rest,  but  she  begged  rather  that  it  be  placed  close  up  to  the 
highroad,  where  people  were  constantly  passing.  This  they  did,  and  from 
her  cot  on  the  front  porch  she  proclaimed  salvation  through  Christ  with 
her  latest  breath.  Near  midnight  of  November  26,  1907,  she  saw  in  vision 
the  heavens  opening  and  exclaimed,  "  Four  bright  angels  have  come  to  take 
me  to  Jesus!"  These  were  her  last  words.  Christians,  Hindus,  Moham- 
medans gathered  about  her  grave  in  Midnapore,  all  agreeing  that  hers  was 
"A  holy  life!  " 

MARIAM    CURTIS 

Mariam  Curtis  has  been  for  some  years  our  most  able  and  ardent 
Bible  woman.  It  hurts  to  speak  in  the  past  tense  of  Mariam  for  she  has 
only  just  gone  Home.  Her  father  was  one  of  a  group  of  five  Hindu  men 
who,  in  their  jungle  home,  on  receiving  a  Christian  tract  from  one  of  our 
preachers,  agreed  to  renounce  their  idols  and  worship  Jesus  Christ.  They 
came  down  to  Midnapore  for  instruction  and  baptism  in  1865.  Dr.  O.  R. 
Bacheler  returned  with  them  to  their  village  and  baptized  them  there,  amid 
stone-throwing  and  anathemas.  From  these  five  families  have  come  a 
large  number  of  our  best  mission  workers.  After  Mariam's  father's  death, 
his  widow  and  children  moved  to  Midnapore  that  the  children  might  have 
Christian  education.  Mariam  was  born  in  heathenism,  but  brought  up  a 
Christian.  She  was  married  quite  young  to  a  Christian  young  man,  son  of 
Silas  Curtis,  and  grandson  of  the  first  convert  in  our  mission.  After  a 
brief  time  of  unusual  happiness  she  was  left  a  widow.  Shortly  after,  her 
only  child,  a  litle  girl  of  three  or  four,  ran  to  her  one  day  exclaiming. 
"Mamma,  I  am  going  to  Jesus!"  and  in  a  few  hours,  stricken  with  a 
swift  India  disease,  she  too  had  gone.  Then  indeed  Mariam's  arms  were 
empty,  her  heart  broken.     Her  faith  too  seemed  to  fail  her.     She  refused 


130        The  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society 


to  eat,  or  sleep,  or  work,  sitting  only  in  hopeless  agony.  Her  friends  feared 
the  loss  of  her  reason.  Then  one  night  in  a  vision  her  Lord  said  to  her, 
"  Mariam,  arise  and  read  Romans  viii-3S."  She  obeyed  and  in  the 
strength  of  that  love  from  which  nothing  could  separate  her,  arose  to  a  new 
life.  Though  it  was  in  the  middle  of  the  night,  she  bathed,  and  cooked  rice 
and  ate.     Then,  indeed,  her  friends  thought  her  mind  had  broken.     But  the 

next  day  she  presented  herself  to 
the  missionary  asking  for  work 
to  do  for  Him.  From  that  time  she 
has  served  as  a  Bible  woman. 

V       '^^^mm&mv^r^mss^^^         When   her   twin-sister   was    dying 
W       ^^r^^^^BvjB^B^      '"  her  little  home  in  Jellasore,  Mar- 
aSww^sS^BH      ^^^  ^^^  ^y  ^^^'  watching  the  closed 
j  ^^ggSy^W      eyes  and  silent  lips.     Suddenly  she 

1     /  .^^^nT  ^1      roused    and    said,    "  Sister,    I    have 

been  to  Dhalbhum,  our  birthplace. 
The  Lord  took  me  there.  Oh,  how 
the  people  listened  to  the  Gospel! 
Sister,  I  am  going  to  Heaven.  Put 
your  hand  on  mine  and  promise  me 
\ou  will  go  to  Dhalbhum  and  tell 
our  own  people  about  Jesus!  "  The 
i:)romise  was  given  and  the  sister 
passed  into  the  Beyond.  Mariam 
remembered  and  prayed  for  the  way 
to  open,  but  it  was  four  years  before 
she  fulfilled  her  promise.  Then,  with 
another  Bible  Woman  and  two  of  our  missionaries,  Miss  Dawson  and  Miss 
Barnes,  she  made  the  long,  jungle  tour  in  January  1908,  through  a  section 
of  country  without  roads  and  infested  with  tigers  and  wild  elephants,  until 
they  came  to  her  village  of  Dumudia,  in  the  native  state  of  Dhalbuhm, 
to  the  north-west  of  our  mission.  Miss  Dawson  says,  "  We  found  the 
women  of  the  caste  ready  to  receive  us.  It  was  so  good  to  see  Mariam 
among  them.  Her  heart  was  right  in  the  work,  and  with  unwearied  zeal 
she  told  them  of  the  blessing  and  peace  and  joy  she  had  received  through 
becoming  a  Christian.  Some  of  the  older  people  remembered  her  father 
and  showed  her  his  grave,  the  ruins  of  his  home,  and  the  tree  under  which 


Mariam    Curtis 


Our  Indian  Helpers  131 

he  used  to  sit  and  preach  to  the  villagers.  We  saw  the  tank  in  which  he 
was  baptized  and  were  told  that  Dr.  Bacheler's  pith  hat  was  all  broken 
by  the  flying  stones.  The  witness  of  this  life  was  not  lost  as  was  evidenced 
by  the  many  inquiring  the  way  of  Salvation.  We  remained  in  Dumudia 
four  days.  Mariam's  twin  sister's  dying  vision  was  literally  fulfilled.  The 
people  were  ready  and  prepared  for  the  Gospel."  And  Mariam  kept  her 
promise  and  told  the  Story  to  her  own  people,  many  days  journey  from 
her  Balasore  home. 

Miss  Coe  says  of  her,  "  Many  times  I  have  followed  her  swift,  tire- 
less feet  along  the  checkerboard  lines  of  ridges  that  separate  the  plots  of 
rice.  With  Mariam  as  my  companion  I  need  not  ponder  how  to  begin  a 
conversation  with  the  women,  or  fear  to  take  my  stand  in  the  most  crowded 
market-place.  Equal  to  the  men  in  an  argument,  resourceful  in  illustration, 
tactful,  always  ready,  she  and  Rutnie  are  my  two  ideal  Bible  women.  She 
has  a  splendid  knowledge  of  the  Bible.  Each  year  at  the  annual  examination 
at  the  end  of  the  course  of  study  required  of  all  our  women  workers  she  holds 
first  or  nearly  first  place.  Though  deeply  spiritual,  she  is  practical  too, 
and  has  a  keen  sense  of  humor  that  helps  through  many  trying  situations 
in  the  long  country  tours.''  She  was  a  frail  little  woman  with  whitening 
hair  and  bright  keen  eyes.  In  a  sudden  epidemic  of  influenza  that  attacked 
our  Christian  community  after  Dr.  Mary  Bacheler  left  on  February  4, 
1921,  Mariam's  frail  life  passed  out.  We  can  illy  afford  to  lose  so  tried 
and  true  a  worker. 

Our  corresponding  secretary  will  not  soon  forget  the  ardor  with  which 
Mariam  pleaded  with  her  to  remain  in  India,  or  the  kiss  bestowed  upon  each 
cheek  as  she  gave  her  farewell  message.  '"  Tell  our  sisters  in  America  to 
pray  for  us." 

RACHEL    DAS    BOSE 

Rachel  Das  Bose  was  the  daughter  of  high  caste  Bengalis  from  a  vil- 
lage to  the  north  of  Midnapore.  Her  father  was  priest,  teacher  and  head- 
man in  his  village.  Through  the  efforts  of  Dr.  O.  R.  Bacheler  and  Dr.  J. 
L.  Phillips,  he  broke  caste,  became  a  Christian,  and  with  his  wife,  was 
baptized  in  the  presence  of  his  \nllage-folk.  Persecution  followed,  —  stones 
were  thrown  as  they  came  out  of  the  water,  and  their  houses  pulled  down 
and  burned.  So,  with  their  two  little  girls  they  came  to  INIidnapore  and 
lived  on  the  compound  of  Dr.  James  L.  Phillips.    With  Dr.  Phillips,  Rachel's 


132         The  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society 

father  studied  the  Bible,  became  a  preacher  and  pastor  of  the  Midnapore 
Church.  While  in  Midnapore  four  more  daughters  were  born  to  them, 
of  whom  Rachel  was  one;  and  two  died.  After  a  time  the  family  moved  to 
Santipore  where  lived  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Jeremiah  Phillips.  The  father  did 
evangelistic  work  among  the  neighboring  villages.  Returning  from  one  of 
these  tours,  when  about  a  year  in  Santipore,  he  was  caught  in  a  heavy 
cyclone  and  took  shelter  in  a  mud  house.     With  his  Christian  servant  he 


Three   Generations  of  Indian   Christians 
Mother,  Sister,  and  Niece  of  Rachel  Das  Bose 


knelt  in  prayer,  and  while  so  engaged  the  mud  walls  fell  in  and  buried  him. 
The  widow  was  thus  left  with  her  four  little  girls  and  a  fifth  born  after  her 
husband's  death. 

Little  Rachel  was  sent  to  the  Orphanage  at  Jellasore,  then  in  charge  of 
Miss  Crawford.  Here  she  was  baptized.  Mrs.  Smith  coming  to  the  Orphan- 
age in  1882,  recognized  in  Rachel  a  girl  of  unusual  abiUty  and  promise, 
became  her  foster  mother  giving  her  careful  training  and  every  advantage. 

In  1884,  Mrs.  Smith  and  Dr.  Coldren  sharing  expenses,  Rachel  was 
sent  to  an  English  school  for  Bengali  girls  in  Calcutta.  Here  she  studied 
the  Bible,  English,  Bengali,  drawing  and  painting;  won  several  prizes  and  a 
medal  for  good  conduct.     February  2,  1893,  when  nineteen,  Rachel  passed 


Our  Indian  Helpers  133 

the  university  entrance  examination.  She  returned  to  Balasore  and  assisted 
Mrs.  Smith  with  the  school  in  connection  with  the  Orphanage.  Of  this 
she  says,  "  I  seek  by  every  means  to  develop  and  strengthen  their  Christian 
character;  more  and  more  I  feel  the  need  of  impressing  upon  their  hearts 
the  necessity  of  being  born  again." 

In  Mrs.  Smith's  death,  on  Feb.  11,  1899,  she  keenly  felt  the  loss  of  a 
mother,  and  was  very  lonely.  Miss  Hattie  Phillips  became  her  guardian 
and  says  of  her,  at  this  time,  "  Rachel  had  offers  of  marriage  but  none 
that  were  suitable.  Not  a  native  woman  in  our  mission  was  her  equal  in 
education  and  refinement,  and  among  our  people  not  a  helpmeet  of  equal 
qualifications  was  to  be  found  for  her."  Then,  early  in  July  1900,  letters 
and  a  photograph  came  from  a  Bengali  widower  from  far  away  seeking  a 
wife.  A  mutual  friend  had  recommended  Rachel.  The  case  was  investigated, 
Rachel  was  consulted,  a  favorable  answer  returned,  the  engagement  was 
made,  followed  quickly  by  a  wedding  early  in  August,  that  Mr.  Bose  might 
get  back  for  the  opening  of  his  school  in  September.  Mr.  Bose  was  head 
master  of  a  Scotch  mission  school,  at  Dinga  in  the  Punjab,  a  man  of 
choice  Christian  character,  excellent  English  education  and  disposed  to 
provide  generously  for  Rachel.  But  while  she  was  twenty-six  years  of  age, 
he  was  fifty-three,  with  a  long  gray  beard !  The  wedding  was  in  the  Balasore 
church  which  was  packed.  Dr.  Coldren  gave  Rachel  away.  She  wore  a 
sari  of  delicate  rainbow  tints,  softly  blended.  This  was  gracefully  draped 
over  a  white  lace  and  satin  blouse.  White  stockings,  slippers,  and  gloves, 
wreath  and  veil,  with  much  gold  jewelry,  gift  of  the  groom,  to  which 
Rachel  was,  unused,  completed  the  outfit.  "  Our  Rachel  looked  very  sweet," 
said  one  of  the  missionary  ladies. 

After  three  days,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bose  started  for  their  new  home,  1200 
miles  away,  close  to  the  north-west  frontier  of  India.  Here  everything  was 
strange  to  Rachel,  —  race,  language,  customs  and  physical  features.  She 
picked  up  the  Hindu  and  Urdu  to  be  able  to  join  in  the  Christian  worship. 
The  houses  were  so  close  together  that,  she  says,  "  I  sit  at  my  window  and 
sing  Christian  hymns  in  Hindustani  to  the  Hindu  and  Mohammedan  W'omen 
gathered  at  their  windows.  They  seem  to  take  pleasure  in  it  and  try  to 
sing  w4th  me.  As  I  get  the  language  it  will  be  a  joy  to  me  to  do  more  and 
more  for  these  women."  At  the  end  of  three  years  she  and  her  husband 
visited  Balasore  with  their  three  months  old  daughter,  Dorcas  Emily.  Her 
joy  was  keen  at  being  back,  for  although  she  was  content  and  happy  with 


134        The  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society 

her  ''  dear,  good  husband,"  she  was  lonely  for  the  companions  and  friends 
of  her  youth.  Two  more  daughters  were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bose  in 
the  Punjab,  and  then  came  the  death  of  her  husband.  Rachel  returned 
with  her  three  little  girls  to  her  friends  in  Balasore.  A  position  was  made 
for  her  as  teacher  in  the  Midnapore  Girls'  School.  She  was  advanced 
to  head  mistress.  It  was  in  this  capacity  that  the  corresponding  secretary 
met  and  knew  her  in  1914.  Mrs.  Bose  read  the  Missionary  Helper  and  was 
famihar  with  the  names  of  our  home  workers  and  officers.  She  was  the 
one  among  our  Indian  people  who  knew  something  of  the  visiting  Secre- 
tary and  was  prepared  to  welcome  her  by  name. 

It  was  shortly  after  this  that  the  Government  raised  its  standard,  re- 
quiring that  the  head  mistress  of  a  school  of  the  grade  of  the  Midnapore 
school  should  have  Senior  Normal  Training.  This  meant  much  to  Mrs. 
Bose;  either  the  giving  up  of  her  position  and  so  her  income,  or  the 
breaking  up  of  her  home  and  going  to  Calcutta  for  training.  The  death 
of  her  sister  had  placed  her  four  children  in  Mrs.  Bose's  home.  To  place 
seven  children,  and  without  her  teacher  salary  arrange  for  their  support, 
as  well  as  her  own  with  travel  and  tuition  fees  added  was  a  problem.  But, 
the  four  foster  children  were  placed  with  relatives,  and  her  own  were  taken 
with  her  to  Calcutta  and  put  in  school.  The  mission  helped  financially, 
and  Mrs.  Bose  took  her  Senior  Normal  Training.  In  due  time,  with  certifi- 
cate in  hand  for  the  Government  Inspectress,  she  came  back  and  resumed 
her  position  in  the  Midnapore  school. 

The  three-months-old  baby  brought  on  a  2400-mile  visit  to  Balasore  in 
1903  was  now  grown  to  young  womanhood.  Early  in  1920  she  was  married 
to  a  young  Bengali  gentleman  of  fine  Christian  family  from  Calcutta.  The 
wedding  took  place  in  the  Midnapore  Church.  Contrary  to  custom,  the 
bride  stood  with  the  groom,  to  receive  the  good  wishes  of  their  friends 
at  the  reception  which  followed.  And  equally  against  custom,  her  two 
younger  sisters,  daintily  draped  in  gold-bordered,  blue  silk  saria,  modestly 
and  pleasingly  served  the  refreshments.  It  was  the  most  up-to-the-minute 
wedding  to  date  in  our  Mission,  speaking  more  loudly  than  words  of  the 
distance  travelled  in  the  advance  of  women  in  the  past  fifty  years. 

Now  Mrs.  Bose,  some  of  her  family  married  and  others  in  Boarding 
School,  is  again  free  to  choose  her  life.  And  at  the  beginning  of  this 
year,  1921,  she  answered  a  call  to  the  Balasore  Girl's  School,  to  supervise 
the  higher  grades,  the  school  having  recently  been  raised  to  a  Middle  English 


Our  Indian  Helpers  135 

School.  And  so  at  middle  life  she  finds  herself  back  amid  the  scenes  and 
associations  that  as  a  girl  she  loved  so  well.  We  wish  for  her  many  happy 
years  of  devoted  service  to  our  common  Lord.  Would  that  her  friends  in 
America  might  know  this  rare  Christian  woman  and  efficient  worker  as  their 
co-laborer  in  the  affairs  of  the  Kingdom. 

Oh,  "  Chosen  vessels,"  yours  to  take 
The  bread  of  life  and  freely  break 
To  hungry  souls,  for  His  dear  sake, 
AVho  died  for  you. 

Mary  B.  Wincate 


OFFICERS    OF   THE    FREE   BAPTIST   WOMAN'S 
MISSIONARY    SOCIETY 

1873-1921 

Presidents 

Mrs.  Emeline  S.   Burlingame    1873-1886 

Mrs.   Mary  A.   Davis    1886-1910 

Mrs.  Lucy  P.  Durgin 1910- 

Vice-Presidents 
Mrs.  a.  C.  Hayes  Mrs.  J.  L.  Sinclair 

Mrs.  E.  W.  Page  Mrs.  Anne  S.  D.  Bates 

Mrs.  B.  F.  Zell  Mrs.  J.  Mariner 

Mrs.  D.  H.  Lord  Mrs.  J.  Dodge 

Miss  Lou  E.  Champlin 

After    1882    the    Vice-Presidents    were    the    Presidents    of    the   Yearly 
Meetings. 

Vice-Presidents  at  Large 

Mrs.  Alma  M.  Cousins  1910-1915 

Miss   May   Malvern    1916-1917 

Mrs.  Maud  West  Kenyon  1917- 

Correspondifig  Secretaries 

Mrs.   a.   C.   Hayes    1873-1874 

Mrs.   J.  A.   Lowell    1874-1893 

Mrs.  S.  C.  G.  Avery  1893-1908 

Mrs.   Minnie  A.   Milliken    1008-1910 

Miss  Lena  S.  Fenner  (Dennett)   ....  1910- 
136 


Officers  of  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society     137 

Assistaiit  Corresponding  Secretary 
Miss  Jessie  L.  Waterman 

Recording  Secretaries 

Mrs.    M.    W.    L.    Smith    1873-1878 

Miss    Sarah    Perkins    1878-1881 

Mrs.  J.  L.  Tourtellot 1881-1891 

Mrs.    Alice    M.    Metcalf    1801-18Q3 

Mrs.  E.  B.  Cheney  1893-18Q4 

Mrs.  Alice  M.  Metcalf   1894-1913 

Mrs.   Nellsine   I.   Jose    1913- 

Assistant  Recording  Secretaries 

Miss  Harriet  A.  Deering  Mrs.  :Mary  G.  Osgood 

Miss  Flora  E.  Berry  ^Mrs.  Xellsine  I.  Jose 

Mrs.  Alice  J.  Merriman 

Treasurers 

Miss  Laura  A.  DeMeritte  1873-1913 

Miss    Edyth    R.    Porter    1913-1920 

Miss  Edna  A.   Folsom    1920- 

Assistant   Treasurers 

Mrs.  G.  C.  W.aterman  Miss  Edyth  R.  Porter 

Miss  May  Malvern 

Auditors 

Mrs.  E.  B.  Chamberlain  :Mrs.  :M.  G.  Osgood 

Miss  Harriet  A.  Deering  Mrs.  M.  W.  Thomas 

Mrs.    Blanch    I.    Butterfield 


138        The  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society 


Members   of    the    Board    of    Managers 


Mrs. 

Emeline  Burlingame  Cheney 

Mrs. 

Frank  Switze 

Mrs. 

E.  D.  Jordan 

Mrs. 

C.  F.  Penney 

Mrs. 

M.  M.  H.  Hills 

Mrs. 

N.  C.  Brackett 

Mrs. 

A.  C.  Hayes 

Miss 

Nellie  Dunn 

Miss 

L.  A.  DeMeritte 

Mrs. 

Ransom  Dunn 

Mrs. 

I.   D.   Stewart 

Mrs. 

M.  A.  W.  Bachelder 

Mrs. 

G.  C.  Waterman 

Mrs. 

F.  L.  Peckham 

Mrs. 

E.   B.   Chamberlain 

Mrs. 

F.  S.  Mosher 

Mrs. 

M.   R.   Wade 

Mrs. 

M.  S.  Osgood 

Mrs. 

S.  L.  Cilley 

Mrs. 

A.  A.  McKenney 

Mrs. 

J.    W.    Winsor 

Mrs. 

Alice  Hulce 

Mrs. 

W.  H.   Bowen 

Mrs. 

N.  L.  Abbey 

Mrs. 

Thera  B.  True 

Mrs. 

0.  W.  Fullam 

Mrs. 

H.  C.  Keith 

Mrs. 

T.  L.  Rose 

Mrs. 

J.  S.  Staples 

Mrs. 

W.  H.  Getchell 

Mrs. 

G.   N.   Howard 

Mrs. 

Coralie  Franklin  Cook 

Mrs. 

C.  A.  Ricker 

Mrs. 

Mary  W.   Ashbaugh 

Mrs. 

A.  M.  Metcalf 

Mrs. 

C.  A.  Willisford 

Mrs. 

E.  A.  Copp 

Mrs. 

A.    E.   Wilson 

Mrs. 

C.  E.  Chase 

Miss  Minnie  A.  Mellows 

Mrs. 

Etta  C.  Lord 

Mrs. 

Inah  G.  Stout 

Mrs. 

0.  H.  Denney 

Mrs. 

Belle  Toothacre 

Miss 

Clara  M.  Law 

Mrs. 

S.  C.  G.  Avery 

Mrs. 

M.  E.  Scribner 

Mrs. 

Maud  West   Kenyon 

Mrs. 

Flora  Tuck 

Mrs. 

Emily  A.  Paige 

Mrs. 

H.  K.  Jordan 

Mrs. 

Willis  Davis 

Mrs. 

H.  P.  Stone 

Mrs. 

Martha  W.  DeMeritte 

Mrs. 

Carrie   Miles 

Mrs. 

C.  H.  Austin 

Mrs. 

J.  A.  Lowell 

Miss 

Mattie  James 

Miss 

S.  A.  Perkins 

Mrs. 

F.  P.  Stone 

Mrs. 

V.  G.  Ramsey 

Mrs. 

Grace  Morris 

Mrs. 

J.  B.  Davis 

Mrs. 

Nellie  Wade  Whitcomb 

Mrs. 

M.  M.  Brewster 

Miss 

Kate  J.  Anthony 

Mrs. 

E.  W.  Page 

Mrs. 

Ethel  Demeritt 

Mrs. 

E.  W.  Porter 

Mrs. 

J.  W.  Doe 

Officers  of  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society     139 


Miss  Alfreda  M.  Mosher 
Mrs.  N.  I.  Jose 
Miss  Cora  E.  Edgerly 
Mrs.  Clara  J.  Ewer 
Mrs.  L.  V.  Jordan 


Mrs.  J.  D.  Waldron 
Mrs.  Bertha  Longfield 
Mrs.  Blanche  I.  Buttertield 
Miss  Amy  B.  Coe 
Miss  Doris  E.  Folsom 


Home  Secretaries 


Mrs.  E.   D.  Jordan 

Mrs. 

B.  F.  Hayes 

Miss   M.   E.    French 

Miss 

S.   L.   Cilley 

jNIrs.  V.  G.  Ramsey 

Mrs. 

R.  R.  Leavens 

Miss  Anna  B.  Stockwell 

Mrs. 

H.  J.  G.  Crosswell 

Mrs.  A.  A.  McKenney 

Mrs. 

F.  L.  Durgin 

Mrs.  M.  A.  W.  Bachelder 

Mrs. 

F.  H.  Peckham 

Miss  Carrie  L.   Bacon 

Mrs. 

M.  M  Brewster 

Mrs.  L.  C.  Lawrence 

Mrs. 

A.  M.  Armel 

Mrs.  E.  H.  Roberts 

Miss 

Ruth  Brockett 

INIrs.  G.  A.  Jackson 

Mrs. 

A.  B.  Webber 

Mrs.  A.  L.  Worden 

Miss 

Elizabeth   Kelso 

Miss  Zoe  Barnthouse 


Western 
^Irs.  J.  W.  Winsor 
Miss  Alice  Sanborn 
:Mrs.  J.  B.  Lagh 
Mrs.  S.  L.  Cilley 
Miss  Nellie  Phillips 
Mrs.  A.   A.   McKenney 
Mrs.  Thera  B.  True 
IMrs.  A.   M.   Metcalf 
Mrs.  Carrie  Miles 


Committee 

Mrs.  J.  M  Sinclair 
Mrs.  G.  P.  Linderman 
Mrs.  H.  C.  Keith 
Miss  Anna  B.   Stockwell 
Miss  Jane   Perry 
Mrs.  M.  A.  W.  Bachelder 
Mrs.  X.  L.  Abbey 
Mrs.  Lucy  P.  Durgin 
Mrs.  Bertha  Longfield 


Secretaries   of  Children's   Department 

Mrs.  F.  S.  Mosher  Mrs.  A.  E.  De.xter 

Miss  Carrie  L.  Bacon  Mrs.  L.  C.  Lawrence 

Mrs.   C.   Edith  Chase  Mrs.  M.  W.  Thomas 

Rev.  Elizabeth  Moody  Mrs.  Julia  P.  Burkholder 


140        The  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society 


Secretaries  of  Cradle  Roll  of  Little  Light  Bearers 

Mrs.  E.  H.  Roberts  Mrs.  Ada  M.  George 

IVIrs.  Julia  T.  Mitchell  Mrs.  Laura  E.  Hartley 


Secretaries  of  Young  Wofna?i's  Work 
Mrs.  Inah  Gates  Stout  Mrs.  Flora  Harvey 

Superijttendetits  of  Bureau  of  Missionary  Intelligence 

Miss  Kate  J.  Anthony  Mrs.  L.  C.  G.  Avery 

Mrs.  A.  D.  Chapman 

Editors  of  the  Missionary  Helper 

Mrs.  INIarilla  M.  Brewster 1878-1886 

Mrs.  Emeline  S.  Burhngame  (Cheney)..  1886-1895 

Mrs.  Nellie  Wade  Whitcomb   1895-1918 

Miss  Doris  Elizabeth  Folsom  1918-1919 

General  Subscription  Agents 

Mrs.  Marilla  M.  Brewster 1878-1886 

Mrs.   Ella  H.   Andrews    1886-1910 

Miss  Lydia  Andrews    1910-1913 

Miss  Alfrieda  M.  Mosher  1913-1919 

Publication    Committee 

Mrs.  M.  N.  Davison  Mrs.  J.  L.  Tourtelott 

Mrs.  A.  B.  Bradbury  Mrs.  Ida  M.  Remick 

Mrs.  E.  H.  Andrews  Miss  Clara  M.  Law 

Mrs.  D.  C.  Arnold  Mrs.  Etta  M  Lord 

Mrs.  H.  C.  Keith  Mrs.  J.  M.  Lowden 

Mrs.  Ella  Evans  Stanton  Mrs.  B.  A.  Sherwood 


Officers  of  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society      141 


Mrs.  J.  H.  Piper 
Mrs.  F.  S.  Mosher 
Miss.  Mary  Malvern 
Mrs.  N.  H.  Hayes 
Mrs.  E.  W.  Porter 
Mrs.  H.  K.  Clark 
Mrs.  J.  T.  Ward 
Mrs.  J.  L.  Phillips 
Mrs.  A.  Given 
Mrs.  F.  M.  Kendall 


Mrs.  Alice  M.  Metcalf 

Mrs.  M.  S.  Waterman 

Mrs.  E.  H.  Roberts 

Miss  Elizabeth  Moody 

Mrs.  Lena  S.  Fenner  (Dennett) 

Mrs.  A.  W.  Jefferson 

Mrs.   Carrie  Miles 

Mrs.  Lucia  F.  Libby 

Miss  Edyth  R.  Porter 

Mrs.  Walter  Malvern 


Thank  Offering  Committee 


Mrs.  C.  A.  Ricker 

Mrs.  E.  B.  Cheney 

Mrs.  Nellie  Wade  Whitcomb 

Mrs.  Ida  L.  Stillman 

Mrs.  Ethel  DeMeritte 

Mrs.  Blanche  I.  Butterfield 


Mrs.  S.  A.  Porter 
Mrs.  Linda  V.  Jordan 
Miss  Doris  E.  Folsom 
Mrs.  A.  D.  Chapman 
Mrs.  Laura  E.  Hartley 
Mrs.  Caroline  C.  Swan 


India  Service 

Susan  R.  Libby   1874-1876,  married,   1878  died  in  India. 

Mary   W.   Bachelder,    M.D.     1876-1883,      1890-1900,      1903-1912,     1914- 

1921  now  on  furlough. 

Ida  O.   Phillips    1877-1887,  1889  died  in  America. 

Harriet  P.  Phillips 1878-1889,    1892-1901,    1903-1904,    married. 

Dorcas  F.  Smith  1882-1891,  1893-1899,  died  in  India. 

Lavina   C.   Coombs    1882-1894,    1896-1904,    1905-1913,    1915- 

active. 
Ella    M.    Butts    1886-1897,    18Q9-1907,    1908-1917,    died    in 

India. 

Sarah    E.    Ager    1889-1918,  died  in  India. 

Anna  R.  Miner   1890-1896,  retired. 

Julia  J.  Scott    1893-1907,  retired. 

Emilie  E.  Barnes    1893-1904,    1906-1913,    1915-active. 

Edna  C.  Wile   1894-1898,  retired. 


142         The  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society 

Beebee  M.  S.  Phillips   1895-1897,  married  in  India. 

Shirley  S.  Thompson,  M.D.  1900-1908,  married  in  India. 

M.  Ethel  Dawson   1903-1910,  married  in  India. 

Clara  V.  Goodrich 1007-1910,  retired. 

Sadie  B.  Gowen   1909-1916,    1921-active. 

Amy  B.  Coe 1909-1916,    1920-active. 

Ida  M.  Holder    1914-1918,  retired. 

Amorette   Porter    1914-1920,  on  furlough. 

M.    Ruth    Daniels    1914-1920,    1921-active. 


Important  Dates 

1780,   June   30 — Founding    of    Free    Baptist    Denomination    by    Benjamin 

Randall  at  New  Durham,  N.  H. 
1833,   June   29 — The  Freewill   Baptist  Foreign   Mission   Society  chartered 

by   the   State   of   Maine. 
1835,  Sept.   22 — 'First  Missionaries  sailed  for  India. 
1839,    Jan.    27  —  First   convert   in   Bengal-Orissa  baptized,   Chakradhar   at 

Balasore. 
1841  The  first  local  Woman's  Missionary  Society,  at  Olneyville, 

R.  I. 
1847,  June  Organization  of  the   Freewill   Baptist   Female  Missionary 

Society  at  Lisbon,  N.  H. 
1865  Beginning  of  Free  Baptist  work  among  southern  negroes. 

1866,    Feb.  Work  begun  in  Hindu  Zenanas,  Midnapore,  India. 

1867  Work  begun  in  Mohammedan  Zenanas,  Midnapore,  India. 

1868  Storer  College,  Harper's  Ferry,  chartered  by  W.  Va. 
1873,   June    12  —  Organization    of    the    Free    Baptist   Woman's    Missionary 

Society,  at  Sandwich,  N.  H. 

1873,  June    12  —  The  first  local  Free  Baptist  Woman's  Missionary  Society 

in  the  West. 

1874,  Oct.  The  first  Missionary  of  the  F.  B.  W.  M.  S.  sailed  for  India. 

1875  The  first  Home  Missionary  of  the  F.  B.  W.  M.  S.  began 

work  at   Storer. 

1875,  Oct.     4  —  Organization  of  the  F.  B.  W.  M.  S.  of  New  Brunswick. 

1876  Zenana   work   taken   on   by   the   W.   M.    S.   at   Balasore, 

Orissa. 


Officers  oj  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society     143 

187  7  Zenana  work  taken  on  by  the  W.  M.  S.  at  Midnapore, 

Bengal. 

1878.  Jan.  First  issue  of  the  Missionary  Helper  . 

1879.  May   30  —  The  dedication  of   Myrtle  Hall,  Storer  College. 

1882  The  Balasore  Orphanage  taken  over  by  the  W.  M.  S. 

1883,  Jan.    26—  The  F.  B.  W.  M.  S.  chartered  by  the  State  of  Maine. 
1886  The  publication  of  "  Missionary  Reminiscences." 

1888  Sinclair  Orphanage   building  named  and   occupied. 
1888,  Oct.     3  —  The   F.   B.  W.   M.   S.   became   auxiliary  to  the  National 

Council  of  Women. 

1889  Organization  of  the  Western  Branch  of  F.  B.  W.  M.  S. 

Discontinued   after   six  years. 

1890  Appointment  of  Travelling  Agent  and  Organizer. 
1891.  June    10 — First  Thank-Offering   Service   instituted   and   held. 

1896  First  Kindergarten  in  Bengal-Orissa  opened  at  Balasore. 

1897  Celebration  of  the  Golden  Jubilee  of  the  Freewill  Baptist 

Female  Missionary  Society. 

1898  Celebration  of  the  Silver  Anniversary  of  the  Free  Baptist 

Woman's  Missionary  Society. 
1898.   June  Organization  of  the  Cradle  Roll  of  Little  Light  Bearers. 

1898,       Oct.  22  —  The  dedication  of  the  Widows'  Home,  Balasore,  India. 
IQOO  The    publication   of    the    "History   of    the    Free    Baptist 

Woman's  Missionary  Society." 
1903  Celebration    of    a    quarter-century    of     the     Missionary 

Helper. 
1905,   July    26 —  Dedication  of  Kindergarten  Hall,  Balasore,  India. 
1906  Union  of  the  foreign  work  of  the  W.  M.  S.  with  that  of 

the  General  Conference  of   Free   Baptists. 
1910  The    John    Brown    Fort    placed    on    the    Storer    College 

Campus. 
1011.  Sept.   13 — L'nion  of  the  foreign  work  of  General  Conference  with 

that  of  the  A.  B.  F.  M.  S. 
1014.     Jan.l  to  1015,  May  1— Visit  of  the  W.  M.  S.  Corresponding  Sec- 
retary in  India. 
1916,    Aug.    2 —  Union  of  the  foreign  work  of  the  F.  B.  W.  M.  S.  with 

that  of  the  W.  A.  B.  F.  M.  S. 


144        The  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society 

1917,    Aug.     2  —  Union  of  the  home  work  of  the  F.  B.  W.  M.  S.  with  that 
of  the  W.  A.  B.  H.  M.  S. 

1920,  Aug.   20 — Dedication  of  the  Girls'  School  Building,  Balasore.  India. 

1921,  April  Visit  of  Khanto  Bala  Rai  of  Midnapore,   India,   to  the 

Jubilee  of  the  W.  A.  B.  F.  M.  S.  in  Amcnai 

1921,  May  Storer  becomes  a  Junior  College. 

1922,  Feb.  Publication  of  "  The   Free   Baptist  Woman's  Missionary 

Society." 


/ 


MY   SISTER   ACROSS   THE    SEA 

Nellie  Wade   Whitcomb 

If  I  have  plenty  and  you  have  need, 

My  sister  across  the  sea, 
I  care  not  what  your  caste  may  be  — 
If  born  of  high  or  low  degree  — 
Or  what  your  color  or  creed; 

I  only  know  that  in  Galilee 
Our  dear  Lord  lived  for  you  and  me. 

You  have  your  sorrows  and  I  have  mine, 

My  sister  across  the  sea. 
I  know  not  what  its  form  may  be, 
Or  what  its  anguish  or  degree  — 
It  is  safe  with  the  Love  Divine; 

I  only  know  in  Gethsemane 
Our  dear  Lord  suffered  for  you  and  me. 

You,  too,  have  sinned,  as  well  as  I, 

My  sister  across  the  sea; 
What  matters  it  what  the  sin  may  be. 
Or  if  it  differs  in  degree 
In  the  light  that  we  see  it  by; 

I  only  know  that  on  Calvary. 
Our  dear  Lord  died  for  you  and  me. 

There  is  joy  for  me  and  joy  for  you. 

My  sister  across  the  sea; 
It  knows  no  country,   and   no  degree. 
Nor  Jew  nor  Gentile,  bond  or  free. 
But  brings  its  blessings,  sweet  and  true  — 

The  promise  of  immortality, 
Since  our  dear  Lord  rose  for  you  and  me. 

145 


146        The  Free  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Society 

So  I  reach  my  hand  to  you  in  the  dark, 

INIy  sister  across  the  sea; 
Our  living,  dying,  risen  Lord 
Sends  you  his  living,  saving  Word, 
And  out  through  the  days  and  years  we  hark 

The  call  to  the  heav'nly  "  Hame  Countree." 
Where  our  dear  Lord  waits  for  you  and  me. 


Princeton  Theological  Sen;ina[',y,,L'|t';a['|," 


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